Israel said on Sunday its military was conducting a “large-scale operation” to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressure Israel and Hamas to move into the next phase of their ceasefire.
The statement came as Israel’s cabinet met to discuss the possibility of opening Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and a day after top US envoys met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about next steps.
The return of Ran Gvili’s remains has been widely seen as removing the remaining obstacle to moving ahead with opening the Rafah crossing, which would signal the ceasefire’s second phase.
The return of all remaining hostages, alive or dead, has been a central part of the first phase of the ceasefire that took effect on October 10. Before Sunday, the previous hostage was recovered in early December.
While Israel has carried out search efforts before for Gvili, more detail than usual was released about this one. Israel’s military said it was searching a cemetery in northern Gaza near the Yellow Line, which marks off Israeli-controlled parts of the territory.
Separately, an Israeli military official said Gvili may have been buried in the Shujaiyya-Daraj Tuffah area, and that rabbis and dental experts were on the ground with specialised search teams. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing an operation still under way.
Gvili’s family has urged Netanyahu’s government not to enter the ceasefire’s second phase until his remains are returned.
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