Hamas Returns Remains of Last Known Gaza Hostage: A Significant Step Towards Resolution

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Israel received a body that Hamas says belongs to one of the last two deceased hostages in Gaza.
Returning the final hostage bodies is a key condition of the first phase of the plan to end the two-year Gaza war.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have continued, with over 350 Palestinians killed in the first 50 days of the ceasefire.

Israel has received a body that Hamas said was one of the last two deceased hostages in the Gaza Strip, as Israel said it would allow Gaza’s gateway to Egypt to open once all hostages were returned.

A body has been transferred by the Red Cross to the Israeli military and will undergo forensic identification, a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

Hamas also handed over remains on Tuesday, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said were not of any hostage.

The handover of the last hostages’ bodies in Gaza would complete a key condition of the initial part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the two-year Gaza war, which also provides for the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt to open in both directions.

Israel has maintained the closure of the crossing since the ceasefire took effect in October, insisting that Hamas must fulfill the terms of the agreement by returning all hostages, both alive and deceased, still in Gaza.

“The crossing will be opened both ways when all of our hostages have been returned,” Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters.

Following the truce, Hamas has released all 20 living captives and handed over the bodies of 26 others, in return for approximately 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners. However, the remains of two other deceased captives remain in Gaza.

Israel has continued to strike Gaza and conduct demolitions against what it says is Hamas infrastructure. Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violating the US-backed agreement.

During the initial 50 days of the ceasefire, Israeli forces have reportedly killed 357 Palestinians, as per Gaza’s health ministry. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants have been responsible for the deaths of three Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli officials.

The two remaining hostages are identified as Israeli police officer Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, both of whom were abducted during Hamas’ assault on Israel on October 7.

The armed wing of the Hamas-allied Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, the Al Quds Brigades, said it had found a hostage body after conducting a search in northern Gaza, along with a team from the Red Cross.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they had handed over the body to the Red Cross late on Wednesday afternoon. The groups did not say which of the two remaining deceased hostages they believed it to be.

The two are Israeli police officer Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, both kidnapped during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

COGAT, the Israeli military arm that oversees humanitarian matters, said the Rafah crossing would be opened in the coming days to allow Palestinians to cross into Egypt.

The decision to open the crossing for those seeking to leave Gaza was made in “full coordination” with those that have mediated between Israel and Hamas during the war, Bedrosian said.

Egypt, along with Qatar and the US, has acted as a mediator.

COGAT said it would be opened under the supervision of a European Union mission — a similar mechanism to that employed during a previous Gaza ceasefire agreed in January 2025.

At least 16,500 patients in Gaza require medical care outside of the enclave, according to the United Nations. Some Gazans have managed to leave for medical treatment abroad through Israel.