Egyptian vehicles enter Gaza to clear rubble and search for Israeli captives

A new batch of Egyptian engineering vehicles entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing to help remove rubble and search for Israeli captives buried under destroyed buildings.

An Egyptian official at the Rafah border crossing told The New Arab's Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that "12 vehicles entered today, in addition to six that crossed yesterday", explaining that the move was part of "ongoing Egyptian-Israeli coordination to facilitate search and rescue operations in areas that witnessed heavy fighting in recent weeks".

The source said the main tasks of the Egyptian teams include “removing large quantities of rubble caused by Israeli bombardment, reopening internal roads in several areas of southern and central Gaza, and assisting in excavation operations to locate the remains of Israeli captives".

He added that Cairo is preparing to send more heavy machinery "in the coming days to accelerate the work and lay the logistical groundwork for reconstruction later on".

The development comes as Egypt steps up efforts to oversee post-war arrangements in Gaza. Egyptian engineering teams, working with international partners, are currently assessing damage and identifying priorities for relief and rebuilding.

Israeli media outlets reported that the entry of Egyptian vehicles was "officially approved by the Israeli army" and carried out under "joint technical supervision".

Egyptian government sources in Cairo, however, emphasised that "Egypt’s role is limited to humanitarian and engineering tasks and does not extend to any security responsibilities inside the Strip".

Earlier on Sunday, additional Egyptian machinery entered Gaza directly through the Rafah crossing to assist in the search for the bodies of remaining Israeli captives trapped under collapsed structures.

Since the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement took effect on 10 October, Hamas has released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of 16 out of 28 others.

Israeli authorities say 13 captives remain unaccounted for, claiming one of the recovered bodies “did not match any of its missing captives".