Israel to Reopen Rafah Crossing After Captive Body Search Completes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced that the Gaza border crossing with Egypt will reopen only after the search for the remains of Israeli soldier Ran Gvili is completed. According to a statement released on Sunday, the opening of the Rafah crossing will be contingent upon the return of all living captives and the execution of 100% effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased captives.

Hamas had earlier stated that it had handed over the location of Gvili’s remains as part of the ceasefire agreement. A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that the group fulfilled its obligations with “absolute transparency” and has no interest in procrastination.

A large-scale operation is currently underway at a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate Gvili’s remains. The Israeli military is also conducting search operations to retrieve Gvili’s body from the “yellow line” area in Gaza, which separates the locations of Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters.

The discovery of Gvili’s remains has been delayed due to the lack of heavy machinery, as part of a US peace proposal for Gaza. The proposal requires Hamas to return all captives, living and dead, from the enclave to Israel.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced last week that the ceasefire was moving to its second stage, which is likely to see the opening of the Rafah border crossing, reconstruction of the Strip, and disarmament of Hamas. Netanyahu met with Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on Saturday to discuss Gaza.

Despite the announcement, Israeli attacks have continued across Gaza, resulting in at least three Palestinian deaths and an Israeli drone wounding four others in Gaza City.

Source: Al Jazeera