Israel launches ‘large-scale operation’ to locate last hostage in Gaza
Israel’s Netanyahu conditions the opening of Gaza’s vital southern border on the recovery of Ran Gvili’s remains
Israel said on Sunday its military was conducting a “large-scale operation” to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressured 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 with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about next steps.
The return of the remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, has been widely seen as removing the remaining obstacle to moving ahead with opening the Rafah crossing and proceeding with the US-brokered ceasefire’s second phase.
Late Sunday, Netanyahu’s office in a statement said: “Upon completion of this operations, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the United States, Israel will open the Rafah crossing”. It gave no details on how long that would be, but Israeli military officials were quoted in local media as saying the operation could take days to complete.
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.