Hamas has expanded its search for the remaining bodies of Israeli hostages to new areas of the Gaza Strip, the group said on Sunday, as Egypt dispatched a team of experts to assist in the recovery efforts.
A convoy of trucks and heavy machinery, including excavators and bulldozers, entered southern Gaza overnight as part of a broader push by international mediators to reinforce the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Egyptian officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Footage released by Agence France-Presse showed the convoy moving through Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached on October 10, Hamas agreed to return all remaining bodies of Israeli hostages as soon as possible, while Israel pledged to hand over 15 Palestinian bodies for every hostage body recovered.
So far, Hamas has returned 18 Israeli bodies, while Israel has sent back the bodies of 195 Palestinians. However, no exchanges have taken place in the past five days.
Hamas’ Gaza chief and top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Sunday that the group had begun searching new areas for 13 remaining bodies of Israeli hostages believed to be buried under rubble. He told Egyptian media last week that extensive destruction from months of bombardment had buried many of the bodies deep underground, complicating recovery efforts.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that he was “watching very closely” to ensure Hamas meets its commitment to return more bodies within 48 hours. “Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not,” he said on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza’s central Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday night for the second time in a week, wounding four people, according to Awda Hospital.
The Israeli military said it targeted militants from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group allegedly plotting an attack on Israeli troops. The group denied the claim, calling it “baseless.”
Hamas condemned the strikes as a “clear violation” of the ceasefire and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to undermine Trump’s mediation efforts.
The Nuseirat area was also struck on October 19, when Israeli forces accused Hamas militants of killing two soldiers. That operation triggered dozens of airstrikes across Gaza, leaving at least 36 Palestinians dead, including women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The latest escalation underscores the fragile state of the ceasefire as both sides trade accusations of violations while recovery efforts for the hostages’ remains continue.