The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that the remains of the last hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip have been recovered and transferred to Israel, clearing the way for the next phase of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
In a statement, the IDF said it identified the remains as those of Ran Gvili, 24, who served in the Israeli Police Force and was killed during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The return of all hostages taken by Hamas — both living and dead — was a key condition of the first phase of Trump’s initial ceasefire deal, which went into effect on Oct. 10. (RELATED: Iran’s Crisis Shows Why Maximum Pressure Works And Why Europe Should Follow Suit)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the recovery, calling it “an extraordinary achievement for Israel,” according to the Times of Israel.
“We promised, and I promised, to bring everyone back, and we brought everyone back…to the very last one,” Netanyahu said.
“Rani is a hero of Israel. He went in first, he came out last. He came back.”
Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that, with the return of the final hostage and as part of Trump’s plan, Israel would agree to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt for pedestrian passage only, “subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism.”
The next phases of the plan call for Hamas to decommission its weapons and either “commit to peaceful co-existence” or leave the Gaza Strip. (RELATED: 180 Skyscrapers For Gaza? Kushner Drops Stunning Master Plan)
Trump said in a speech last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Hamas has agreed to give up its weapons within “the next three weeks,” but warned of consequences if the group fails to comply.
“If they don’t do it, they’re going to, they’ll be blown away. Very quickly. They’ll be blown away,” Trump said.
Hamas — which the United States designates as a terrorist organization — has said it is open to “freezing or storing” its weapons. The group has also said it would give up governance of the Gaza Strip once a Palestinian technocratic body takes over.
Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack killed an estimated 1,200 people and led to about 250 hostages being taken, triggering what has become a three-year war.
Gaza has been devastated in the conflict, with an estimated 70,000 Palestinians killed, including about 20,000 estimated to be Hamas fighters. Israel has also suffered hundreds more military losses.
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