Israel's recovery of the last hostage's remains in Gaza opens the way for next ceasefire steps

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Monday it had recovered the remains of the last hostage in Gaza, closing a painful chapter for the country and clearing the way for the next and more challenging phase of its ceasefire with Hamas.

The most likely next step would be the reopening of Gaza’s border with Egypt, enabling Palestinians to move in both directions and for more aid to enter the territory devastated by two years of war. The ceasefire also calls for the deployment of an international security force, disarming Hamas, a further pullback by Israeli soldiers and the reconstruction of Gaza.

The announcement that the remains of police officer Ran Gvili had been found and identified came a day after Israel’s government said the military was conducting a “large-scale operation” in a cemetery in northern Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “an incredible achievement” for Israel and its soldiers. He said Gvili, who was killed during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war, was among the first to be taken into Gaza.

“There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Netanyahu said Monday while addressing the Israeli parliament. “We have completed this mission, as I promised, and we will complete the other missions we have set.”

The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase. Gvili’s family had urged Israel’s government not to enter the second phase until his remains were recovered and returned.

Hamas said it now has committed to all terms of the ceasefire's first phase.

The next phase will confront thornier issues, including transitioning to a new governance structure in Gaza and disarming 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 the search for Gvili was finished, Israel would open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which Palestinians see as their lifeline to the world. It has been largely shut since May 2024, except for a short period in early 2025.

Palestinians react to recovery of last hostage's remains

Palestinians in Gaza were optimistic that the recovery of the remains will lead to the opening of Rafah crossing and allow travel to and from Gaza along with the evacuation of people needing medical care.

“We hope this will close off Israel’s pretexts and open the crossing,” said Abdel-Rahman Radwan, a Gaza City resident whose mother is a cancer patient and requires treatment outside Gaza.

Ahmed Ruqab, a father who lives with his family of six in a tent in the Nuseirat refugee camp, called for mediators and the U.S. to pressure Israel to allow more aid and caravans into Gaza.

“We need to turn this page and restart,” he said over the phone.

Israel and Hamas had been under pressure from ceasefire mediators including Washington to move into the second phase of the U.S.-brokered truce, which took effect on Oct. 10.

Israel had repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final 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 right along the “yellow line” dividing Gaza just on the Israeli side, according to a military official, speaking anonymously under army protocol.

The October 2023 attack on Israel that launched the war killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as “Rani,” was killed while fighting Hamas militants.

Before Gvili’s remains were recovered, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others had been returned to Israel since the ceasefire, most recently in early December. Israel in exchange has released the bodies of hundreds Palestinians to Gaza.

Palestinians killed in Gaza

Israeli forces on Monday fatally shot a man in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the body. The man was close to an area where the military has launched the search operation for Gvili, the hospital said.

Another man was killed in the eastern side of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to 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 into phase two of the ceasefire will improve conditions on the ground, pointing to ongoing bloodshed and challenges securing basic necessities.

Israel’s 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 latest ceasefire began. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.

Israel's top court considers petition to open Gaza for 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 organizations, has been fighting for more than two years for independent media access to Gaza. Israel has barred reporters from entering Gaza independently since the 2023 attacks by Hamas, which triggered the war, saying entry could put both journalists and soldiers at risk.

The army has offered journalists brief, occasional visits under strict military supervision.

FPA lawyers told the three judge panel that the restrictions are not justified and that with aid workers moving in and out of Gaza, journalists should be allowed in as well. They also said the tightly controlled embeds with the military are no substitute for independent access. The judges are expected to rule in the coming days.