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Israel launches 'large scale operation' to locate last hostage in Gaza

By NATALIE MELZER
Israel Palestinians People hold signs with a photo of Ran Gvili, who was killed while fighting Hamas militants during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and whose body has been held in Gaza ever since, during a rally calling for his return in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) (Leo Correa/AP)
By NATALIE MELZER

NAHARIYA, Israel — Israel said Sunday its military was conducting a "large-scale operation" to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressure 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 U.S. 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, which 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.

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