Israel launches ‘large-scale operation’ to find last Gaza hostage | Israel
Israel said on Sunday its military was conducting a “large-scale operation” to find the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressured Israel and Hamas to move to the next phase of the ceasefire.
The statement came a day after Israel’s cabinet met to discuss the possibility of opening Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt and senior US envoys met with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu about next steps.
Israel’s request for the extradition of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, is seen as the last obstacle to opening the Rafah crossing and starting the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire.
In the statement made by Netanyahu’s office late on Sunday, it was stated that Israel will open the Rafah border gate when this search operation is completed and in accordance with the agreement with the USA.
The return of all remaining hostages, alive or dead, became a central part of the first phase of the ceasefire that came into force on 10 October. The previous hostage was rescued in early December.
Although Israel has carried out the search for Gvili before, more details have emerged about this issue than ever before. The Israeli army said it carried out a search of a cemetery in northern Gaza, near the “yellow line” that defines parts of the area under Israeli control.
Separately, an Israeli military official said Gvili may have been buried in the Shuja’iya-Daraj Tuffah area and that rabbis and dental experts were at the site along with special search teams. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing an ongoing operation.
Gvili’s family called on Netanyahu’s government not to enter the second phase of the ceasefire until his body is returned.
But the pressure is mounting, and the Trump administration recently announced the start of phase two.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the rescue of the last hostage. Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that it had provided all the information it had about Gvili’s remains and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.
Meanwhile, the shuttered headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem was set on fire overnight, days after Israeli bulldozers demolished parts of the compound.
It was not known who started the fire. Roland Friedrich, the agency’s West Bank director, said Israeli settlers were observed looting the main building for furniture at night. He said holes were cut in the fence.
Israel’s fire service said it sent crews to prevent the fire from spreading. In May 2024, Unrwa said she closed her compound after settlers set fire to her fences.
Unrwa’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, told The Associated Press that the incident was “the latest attack on the UN in the ongoing attempt to eliminate the status of Palestinian refugees.”
Unrwa’s mission is to provide aid and services to 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as 3 million refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. But its operations were restricted after Israel’s Knesset passed a law last year severing ties and banning it from operating in what Israel defines as territory, including East Jerusalem.
Israel has long opposed the agency, accusing it of infiltrating Hamas and alleging that some of its employees were involved in the 2023 offensive that triggered Israel’s two-year war in Gaza. Unrwa leaders said they took swift action against employees accused of participating in the attack and rejected allegations that the organization tolerated or cooperated with Hamas.
