Israel said Monday it had recovered the remains of the last hostage in Gazaclosing a painful chapter for the country and paving the way for the next, more difficult phase of its development. ceasefire with Hamas.
The most likely next step would be reopening the border between Gaza and Egypt, allowing Palestinians to move in both directions and get more help entering the territory devastated by two years of war. The ceasefire also calls for the deployment of an international security force, the disarmament of Hamas, a further withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and the reconstruction of Gaza.
The announcement that the remains of policeman Ran Gvili had been found and identified came a day after the Israeli government said the army was carrying out a “large-scale operation” at a cemetery in northern Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an “incredible achievement” for Israel and its soldiers. He said that Gvili, who was killed during the Attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023who started the war, was among the first to be taken to Gaza.
“There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Netanyahu said Monday while addressing the Israeli parliament. “We accomplished this mission, as I promised, and we will accomplish the other missions we set out to do.”
The return of all remaining hostages, alive or dead, was a key part of the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza. Gvili’s family had urged the Israeli government not to enter the second phase until his remains were found and returned.
Hamas said it was now committed to respecting all terms of the first phase of the ceasefire.
The next phase will face thornier issues, including the transition to a new governance structure in Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas, which has ruled the territory for nearly two decades.
“What is the next phase? The next phase is disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. The next phase is not reconstruction,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that once Gvili’s research is complete, Israel will open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which Palestinians view as their lifeline to the world. It has been largely closed since May 2024, except for a short period in early 2025.
Palestinians react to recovery of remains of last hostage
Palestinians in Gaza were optimistic that the recovery of the remains would lead to the opening of the Rafah crossing and allow travel to and from Gaza as well as the evacuation of people in need of medical care.
“We hope this will end Israel’s pretexts and open the passage,” said Abdel-Rahman Radwan, a Gaza City resident whose mother has cancer and needs treatment outside Gaza.
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Ahmed Ruqab, a father who lives with his family of six in a tent in the Nuseirat refugee camp, called on mediators and the United States to pressure Israel to allow more aid and caravans into Gaza.
“We have to turn this page and start again,” he said by telephone.
Israel and Hamas have come under pressure from ceasefire mediators, including Washington, to move to the second phase of the ceasefire. the truce negotiated by the United Stateswhich came into force on October 10.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in recovering 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 them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.
Gvili’s remains were found along the “yellow line” that divides Gaza on the Israeli side, according to a military official speaking anonymously according to military protocol.
The attack on Israel in October 2023, which sparked the war, killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer affectionately known as “Rani,” was killed while fighting Hamas militants.
Before Gvili’s remains were found, 20 live hostages and the remains of 27 others had been returned to Israel since the ceasefire, most recently early December. In exchange, Israel released the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza.
Palestinians killed in Gaza
Israeli forces shot dead a man in Gaza’s Tuffah neighborhood on Monday, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the body. The man was near an area where the army launched a search operation for Gvili, the hospital said.
Another man was killed in the eastern part of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received his body. The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear.
Palestinians in Gaza who spoke to The Associated Press in recent weeks questioned whether moving to phase two of the ceasefire would improve conditions on the ground, pointing to ongoing bloodshed and difficulties securing basic necessities.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 71,400 Palestinians since 2023, according to Gaza’s health ministry – with more than 480 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the start of the last ceasefire. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that are generally considered reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Israel’s highest court considers request to open Gaza to international journalists
The Foreign Press Association on Monday asked Israel’s Supreme Court to allow journalists to enter Gaza freely and independently.
The FPA, which represents dozens of global news agencies, has been fighting for independent media access to Gaza for more than two years. Israel has barred journalists from entering Gaza independently since the 2023 Hamas attacks that sparked the war, saying entry could endanger both journalists and soldiers.
The army offered journalists brief, occasional visits under strict military supervision.
FPA lawyers told the three judges that the restrictions are not justified and that with aid workers moving in and out of Gaza, journalists should also be allowed in. They also said that tightly controlled integration within the military is no substitute for independent access. The judges are expected to rule in the coming days.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
