Israel has told mediators that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad know how to reach the remains of Master Sgt. Ran
Gvili, 24, the last hostage held in the Gaza Strip, Israeli television reported Friday.
According to Channel 12 news, a delegation led by the government’s hostage point man Gal Hirsch traveled to Cairo on
Thursday and demanded action from mediators to ensure the terror groups retrieve Gvili’s body and return it to Israel.
An Israeli source cited by the network said the talks in the Egyptian capital also addressed the second phase of US
President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which his administration is seeking to declare a transition to in the coming
Mediators reportedly indicated to the Israeli delegation that Hamas is “showing interest” in standing by the
ceasefire-hostage deal, and wants to move to the next stage, including disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza.
In official statements, however, Hamas has insisted on retaining its weapons.
“Either they agree or we’ll separate them from their weapons. We won’t let a threat to the State of Israel remain in
Gaza,” the Israeli source added.
Also Friday, mediators Egypt and Qatar, along with six other Muslim-majority countries, said they were concerned about
Israel stating it would open a one-way crossing for Palestinians to exit the Strip.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates
“expressed their deep concern regarding the statements issued by the Israeli side concerning the opening of the Rafah
Border Crossing in one direction with the aim of transferring residents of the Gaza Strip to” Egypt, they said in a
The ministers voiced “their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land” and said
they were against “compelling any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave.”
They urged for the crossing to be opened in both directions. The first phase of the US-brokered hostage-release
ceasefire deal that came into effect in October called for the crossing to be opened for medical evacuations and for
Israel announced on Wednesday that it will reopen the Rafah crossing in the coming days for the exit of Palestinians
from the Gaza Strip to Egypt, though Cairo denied it was coordinating with Jerusalem on renewing operations at the
Israel had previously said the crossing would remain shuttered until Hamas fulfills its part in the deal, including
returning all the hostages held in Gaza, where on Friday the military said troops killed a terror operative who
approached them in the northern Strip.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, two terror operatives “carrying suspicious objects” were identified by troops of
the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade.
The operatives approached the forces stationed in northern Gaza, “in a way that posed an immediate threat,” the IDF
The Israeli Air Force then struck the pair, “to remove the threat,” the military said, adding that “one of the
terrorists was eliminated.”
Meanwhile, the IDF said loud blasts reported across central Israel on Friday were the result of military activity in
The booms were reported as far away as the Tel Aviv area, some 60 kilometers (38 miles) away.
Amid the ongoing ceasefire, the IDF has been demolishing Hamas tunnels and sites in areas of the Strip under Israeli
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.