Israel reportedly informs mediators that Gaza terror groups know how to retrieve body of last Israeli hostage

Israeli television Channel 12 reported on Friday that Jerusalem informed mediators that the terrorist organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) know how to retrieve the remains of IDF Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage whose body is still in Gaza.

Channel 12 reported that Gal Hirsh, the Israeli government’s hostage point man, traveled with an Israeli delegation to Cairo to demand that the mediators secure the return of Gvili’s remains to the Jewish state. The American-brokered Gaza ceasefire stipulates that Hamas and PIJ must return all Israeli hostages before the process can move on to phase two. U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly seeks to move to phase two of the ceasefire within the next few weeks.

The mediators reportedly told the Israeli delegation that Hamas is “showing interest” in fulfilling the requirements of the ceasefire’s first phase.

Itzik Gvili, the father of the deceased hostage Ran Gvili, recently expressed concern that Hamas could deliberately hold his son’s remains for years.

“We pray, of course, that he will not be another Ron Arad or [Hadar] Goldin,” Gvili told the Israeli broadcaster Kan News. “That we don’t drag it out for many more years.”

Ron Arad was an Israeli Air Force navigator who went missing in action in Lebanon in 1986 after his plane was shot down. IDF soldier Hadar Goldin was killed in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Last month, Goldin’s body was returned to Israel after being held by Hamas for 11 years in the Gaza Strip.

The mediators also claim that Hamas is ready to negotiate disarmament and the demilitarization of Gaza as required under the ceasefire terms.

“Either they agree or we’ll separate them from their weapons. We won’t let a threat to the State of Israel remain in Gaza,” Israeli sources stated.

However, Hamas has sent mixed signals on the disarmament issue. While Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar has reportedly signaled willingness to disarm, Hamas’ military leadership in Gaza has refused and insists on retaining what it calls “defensive” arms such as machine guns.

It was reported last month that Washington is reconsidering the Hamas disarmament demand due to refusal from the terror group and a lack of support from the mediating nations Egypt and Qatar.

Meanwhile, Qatar, Egypt, and six other Muslim-majority countries expressed concern on Friday that Israel seeks a one-way reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates jointly “expressed their deep concern regarding the statements issued by the Israeli side concerning the opening of the Rafah Border Crossing in one direction with the aim of transferring residents of the Gaza Strip to Egypt.”

The foreign ministers further stated “their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land” and stressed their opposition to “compelling any resident of the Gaza Strip to leave.”

Polls indicate that a significant portion—and potentially even a majority—of the Gazan population would like to emigrate if given the opportunity. However, most Muslim-majority countries remain opposed to even voluntary emigration of Gazans.