As the repatriation of hostage bodies by the Palestinian militant group Hamas has been delayed, an international search team has been deployed to the Gaza Strip.
According to Israel's Channel 13 and other sources on the 17th (local time), a search team comprised of soldiers dispatched by the United States, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar was sent into the Gaza Strip the previous night. Based on hostage location information provided by Israel, the team is using engineering equipment and other resources to search for the bodies. Turkey is also reported to have sent 81 members of its Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) to the Gaza Strip to assist in the search for bodies.
After a ceasefire agreement was reached on the 9th, Hamas released all 20 surviving hostages but has returned only 9 out of the 28 hostage bodies it had agreed to hand over. Hamas stated that the remaining bodies are buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli military attacks, requiring heavy machinery such as excavators, and that it may take additional time for the final repatriation.
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