Israel recovers remains of last hostage

Israel has recovered the remains of the last hostage held in the Gaza Strip, the army said on Monday. This fulfills a key condition of the initial phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.

The army said in a statement that the remains of police officer Rana Gvili had been identified and would be returned to his family for burial.

Israel also said that after the return of Gvili's remains or the end of the search operation for his body, it would reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which is the enclave's main link to the world.

Gvili's body had been held in Gaza since he was killed at Kibbutz Alumim during a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Under pressure from regional powers and President Trump, Hamas and Israel agreed to a truce in October, which Trump described as the first step toward "a strong, lasting, and eternal peace."

(reuters, luc)