The armed wing of Hamas, the Al Qasam Brigades, are searching this Wednesday in the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City for the remains of the only Israeli hostage remaining in the Palestinian Strip, police officer Yan Gvili, local sources informed EFE.
Sources indicated that the search is being conducted with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which usually oversees this type of operation.
The Al-Qassam Brigades already searched for Gvili’s body in early December in the same neighborhood of the Gazan capital where they are now conducting a new search.
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Alongside the release of the 20 living hostages from Gaza, which occurred with the entry into force of the ceasefire in October, the return of the 28 deceased is one of the commitments that Hamas has to fulfill in the first phase of the truce agreement promoted by the United States.
Since its entry into force on October 10, the Islamists have been delivering the remains of these captives in dribs and drabs, due, as they have been pointing out, to the problems they have faced in finding them among tons of rubble caused by Israeli bombings.
Hamas has also denounced the lack of heavy machinery to carry out these tasks and that Israel killed many of the commanders who were in charge of monitoring and burying these bodies.
The Israeli government, however, has criticized Hamas for prolonging this handover of bodies to avoid negotiations on the second phase, in which they have to address, among other issues, the disarmament of the militia.
Both officials from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have visited Cairo in recent days to discuss progress on the second phase of the truce and the opening of the Rafah crossing, which connects Gaza with Egypt.
Israeli media indicated that the Benjamin Netanyahu government will not open the crossing until Hamas hands over the remains of the last captive hostage.
The Rafah crossing, the main exit and entry point between Gaza and the outside world and the only one not controlled by Israel, has remained virtually closed since May 2024 after the Israeli Army occupied the Palestinian side of that land crossing.
So far, only the Zikim, Kerem Shalom, and Kissufim crossings have been open, operating exclusively for the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave, where Israeli authorities inspect the trucks before authorizing their entry into Gaza or not.
The reopening of Rafah is part of the second phase of Trump’s peace plan in the Strip, which supports the truce, along with the total withdrawal of Israeli troops, the disarmament of Palestinian militias, the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian enclave, and the creation of a transitional government.
