Israel Has Recovered The Last Hostage But Said The Next Phase Of The Ceasefire Is Not Reconstruction

Israel has recovered the body of the last hostage in Gaza, but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the next phase of the “ceasefire” will not be the reconstruction of the strip.

On Monday, Jan. 26, Israel announced it had recovered the body of Israeli policeman Ran Gvili after identification and that he will be returned to Israel for burial.

Earlier, on Sunday, Jan. 25, Hamas' armed wing spokesperson said it had provided Israel with all the details about Gvili’s body location.

Hamas has now returned all 251 hostages taken from Israel, dead or alive, to Israel under the terms of the phase of the “ceasefire” deal agreed to in October.

As part of the first phase of the ceasefire, the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was to be opened in both directions, with 600 aid trucks meant to enter Gaza per day.

But Israel has closed the Palestinian side of the border, saying it will block it until the last hostage is returned, and allowed only a minimal amount of aid to enter Gaza.

The second phase of the ceasefire deal is supposed to include Hamas’ disarmament, the creation of a committee of Palestinian technocrats to govern Gaza during a transitional period and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Netanyahu called Gvili's return on Monday "an extraordinary achievement," but said the next phase is “not reconstruction.”

“The next phase will be disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip,” he said.

On Sunday, his office also said Israel "agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism" once the operation to find and return Gvili was complete, according to BBC.

Later on Monday, Israel released nine Palestinian detainees in exchange for Gvili’s body to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central Gaza.

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