Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey because it has not returned all of the hostages’ bodies.
The Palestinian armed group says it is committed to the deal, but that it needs help to find remains buried under the rubble left by two years of war.
“The Red Cross, the Egyptian technical team, and a Hamas person have been permitted to enter beyond the IDF’s Yellow Line position in Gaza under close IDF supervision,” Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told a briefing on Monday afternoon.
She also said the Egyptians would bring in more equipment, including “tractor-type vehicles”.
On Sunday, she had said they were using two to three excavators and a similar number of lorries to carry out searches.
All 20 living Israeli hostages were released soon after the ceasefire took effect on 10 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
Israel had also handed over the bodies of 195 Palestinians in exchange for the bodies of the 13 Israeli hostages previously returned by Hamas, along with those of two foreign hostages – one of them Thai and the other Nepalese.
Before Monday night’s handover, 11 of the dead hostages still in Gaza were Israelis, one was Tanzanian, and one was Thai.
“Hamas knows where they are located and there is no other option but for them to be released back home,” Ms Bedrosian said.