Israel says the remains of final hostage in Gaza are recovered, key for ceasefire’s next phase
The announcement that Ran Gvili’s remains had been found and identified came a day after the Israeli government said the army was conducting a “large-scale operation” at a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an “incredible success” for Israel and its soldiers, telling Israeli media, “I promised we would bring everyone home, and we brought everyone home.” He said Gvili, who was killed during the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war on October 7, 2023, was among the first to be taken to Gaza.
The return of all remaining hostages, alive or dead, was a key part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, and Gvili’s family had called on the Israeli government not to enter into the second phase until his remains were found and returned.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Sunday that once the search for Gvili is completed, Israel will open the Rafah border gate between Gaza and Egypt, which Palestinians see as a lifeline to the world. It has been largely shut down since May 2024, except for a small period in early 2025.
Israel and Hamas were under pressure from ceasefire mediators, including Washington, to move into the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire, which will take effect on October 10.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the rescue of the last hostage. Hamas said it had provided all the information it had about Gvili’s remains and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for those remains in areas under Israeli military control in Gaza. The Israeli military said the large-scale operation to find Gvili’s remains was in the “Yellow Line area” that divides the area.
In the attack on October 7, 2023, approximately 1,200 people died and 251 people were taken hostage. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer affectionately known as “Rani”, was killed while fighting Hamas militants.
Before Gvili’s remains were found, the remains of 20 living hostages and 27 others had been returned to Israel since the ceasefire, most recently in early December. In return, Israel released the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians into Gaza.
The next phase of the 20-point ceasefire plan called for the creation of an international stabilization force, the establishment of a technocratic Palestinian government and the disarmament of Hamas.
Palestinians killed in Gaza
Israeli forces fatally shot a man in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood on Monday, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the body. The hospital said the man was close to the area where the military launched its search operation for Gvili.
Another man was killed on the eastern side of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital, which accepted his body. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.
More than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since October 10, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are generally considered reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.
Israeli supreme court considers petition to open Gaza to international journalists
The Foreign Press Association asked Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday to allow journalists to enter Gaza freely and independently.
FPA, which represents dozens of global news organizations, has been fighting for independent media access to Gaza for more than two years. Israel has banned journalists from entering Gaza independently since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas that triggered the war, saying entry could put both journalists and soldiers at risk.
The army offered occasional short visits to journalists under strict military supervision.
FPA lawyers told the three-judge panel that the restrictions were not justified and that journalists should also be allowed in because aid workers travel in and out of Gaza. They also said that tightly controlled deployments with the military could not replace independent access. The judges are expected to decide in the coming days.
