Israel’s military launched a “large-scale operation” in Gaza on Sunday to locate the last remaining hostage. This comes as Washington and other mediators intensify pressure on Israel and Hamas to progress to the next phase of their ceasefire agreement.
The operation coincides with Israel’s Cabinet meeting to discuss reopening the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt. This follows talks between top US envoys and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the previous day, addressing future steps.
The return of Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage, is widely seen as the final obstacle to opening the Rafah crossing, a move that 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 Oct. 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 specialized 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.
But pressure has been building, and the Trump administration has already declared in recent days that the second phase is under way.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage. Hamas in a statement Sunday 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.
