Overview
- Israeli forces recovered and formally identified the remains of Ran Gvili, notifying his family and transferring the body to Israel.
- The targeted search focused on a cemetery near the so‑called Yellow Line, where teams examined numerous graves and confirmed the identity through dental records and DNA.
- The military said that with Gvili’s return, all hostages taken to Gaza—both living and deceased—have now been brought back to Israel.
- Following the recovery, Israel approved a restricted reopening of the Rafah crossing for pedestrian traffic, with timing and scope still under negotiation and facing pushback from some ministers.
- The development fulfills a central condition for moving to Phase Two, which envisions Hamas disarmament, an interim technocratic Gaza administration and an international stabilization force, though Hamas rejects full disarmament and media report Israel may return 15 Palestinian bodies as part of the terms.