The Media Line: Search in Gaza Resumes for Final Hostage Body as Families Demand Return Before Second Phase of Ceasefire  

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Search in Gaza Resumes for Final Hostage Body as Families Demand Return Before Second Phase of Ceasefire  

By The Media Line Staff  

Search efforts inside Gaza are expected to resume Sunday for the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage who has not yet been returned under the ceasefire agreement, according to Kan radio. The operation is being carried out in Gaza City’s Zeitoun district, where Hamas is believed to have information that could lead to his precise location.  

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, told Al Jazeera that the group and the Red Cross would “be searching in areas that have yet to be covered,” describing a coordinated attempt to locate Gvili’s remains.   

Families of the hostages pressed the government on Tuesday to insist that no shift to phase two of the ceasefire will occur until Gvili is handed over. The Hostages Families Forum said in a statement that the return of the other bodies should remove any doubt about Hamas’s control over the information. “The return of 27 fallen hostages until now proves unequivocally what we said the whole time—Hamas knows the location of all hostages and is using this information as a bargaining chip and to deceive the entire world,” the group said.  

The forum added that “Hamas must return everyone, and the government and mediators must demand that it stand by its commitments in full,” calling on negotiators to hold firm as the ceasefire’s next stage is discussed.  

Meanwhile, Washington is preparing for the next step in its Gaza initiative. Officials say the administration of President Donald Trump intends to move ahead with the transition to phase two of the US-brokered plan within roughly two weeks, provided the ceasefire remains stable.