Israel recovers remains of the last hostage in Gaza. Ceasefire moves into tricky new phase

Israel announced Monday it has recovered the remains of police officer Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza, marking a significant milestone in the country’s ceasefire agreement with Hamas that began on October 10.

Gvili’s remains were found in a cemetery in northern Gaza, near the “yellow line” dividing the territory. The 24-year-old officer was killed during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war and was among the first to be taken into Gaza, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have completed this mission, as I promised, and we will complete the other missions we have set,” Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament. The recovery closes a painful chapter for Israel and clears the way for the next phase of the ceasefire implementation.

Dozens of people, including family members, military officials, and colleagues from Gvili’s police unit, received his flag-draped coffin at an army post on the Israeli side of the Gaza border. Many more Israelis lined nearby roads as the convoy made its way to Tel Aviv.

“You should see the honor you’re receiving here,” Gvili’s father, Itzik, said while kissing his son’s coffin. “The entire police is here with you, the entire army is with you, the entire people. I’m proud of you.”

With the recovery of Gvili’s remains, Israel is now expected to open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which has been largely closed since May 2024. This border opening is crucial for Palestinians, who view it as their lifeline to the outside world. It will allow movement of people in both directions and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory.

“We hope this will close off Israel’s pretexts and open the crossing,” said Abdel-Rahman Radwan, a Gaza City resident whose mother needs cancer treatment outside Gaza. Ahmed Ruqab, a father living with his family in a tent in the Nuseirat refugee camp, called for mediators and the U.S. to pressure Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. “We need to turn this page and restart,” he said.

The ceasefire agreement now moves to its second phase, which includes more challenging objectives: deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, withdrawing Israeli soldiers, and rebuilding Gaza. Netanyahu emphasized his priorities, stating, “The next phase is disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. The next phase is not reconstruction.”

Hamas said it has fulfilled all terms of the ceasefire’s first phase. Before Gvili, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others had been returned to Israel since the ceasefire began, most recently in early December. In exchange, Israel has returned the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians to Gaza.

The October 2023 Hamas attack killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed more than 71,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, with over 480 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the latest ceasefire began.

Despite the ceasefire, violence continues. Israeli forces on Monday fatally shot two people in Gaza, according to local hospitals. One man was reportedly near the area where the military was searching for Gvili’s remains.

In a symbolic gesture marking the recovery of all hostages, Israeli President Isaac Herzog removed a yellow pin that many Israeli citizens and public figures had worn since the early months of the war to show solidarity with the hostages and their families.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Press Association asked Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday to allow journalists to enter Gaza freely and independently. Israel has barred reporters from entering Gaza independently since the 2023 Hamas attacks, citing safety concerns for journalists and soldiers. The army has instead offered tightly controlled visits under military supervision.

The Biden administration welcomed the development, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling it “incredible news” in a social media post. President-elect Donald Trump also commented, saying “Most thought of it as an impossible thing to do.”

The next phase of the ceasefire represents a critical juncture in the long-running conflict, with significant implications for regional stability and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.