Hamas expands search for remains of hostages in Gaza

Hamas has expanded its search for bodies of hostages in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group said on Sunday, a day after Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to help retrieve them.

- 

Under the US-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on Oct.IO, Hamas is expected to return remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. Israel has agreed to return 15 bodies of Palestinians for each one.

Hamas has returned the remains of 15 hostages but hasn't handed over any in five days. Israel has returned the bodies of 195 Palestinians, many of them unidentified.

Red Cross and Egyptian teams have been permitted to search for the bodies of deceased hostages beyond the “yellow line” demarcating the Israeli military’s pullback in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli government spokesperson said on Sunday.

More complicated steps lie ahead under the ceasefire plan, including the disarming of Hamas and the postwar governance of famine-stricken Gaza, where the UN and partners continue to urge Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.

International media have been barred from Gaza aside from brief visits with Israel's military, and Israel on Sunday said that hadn't changed.

Hamas’ chief in Gaza, Khalil Al Hayya, said the group started searching new areas for bodies of the remaining 13 hostages, according to comments the group shared on Sunday.