Israel launches ‘large-scale operation’ to locate last hostage in Gaza : NPR

People hold up signs with a photo of Ran Gvili, who was killed while fighting Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023 attack and whose body has been held in Gaza ever since, during a rally calling for his return in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, January 23, 2026.

Leo Correa/AP

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Leo Correa/AP

NAHARIYA, Israel — Israel said Sunday its military is carrying out a “large-scale operation” to locate the last hostage in Gaza, as Washington and other mediators pressure Israel and Hamas to move to the next phase of their ceasefire.

The statement comes as Israel’s cabinet meets to discuss the possibility of opening the key Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, and a day after top US envoys met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on next steps.

The return of the remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, was widely seen as removing the final obstacle to the opening of the Rafah crossing and the implementation of the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire.

On Sunday evening, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement: “Once these operations are completed, and in accordance with what has been agreed with the United States, Israel will open the Rafah crossing. He gave no details on how long the operation would take, but Israeli military officials were quoted in local media as saying the operation could take days.

The return of all remaining hostages, alive or dead, was a central element of the first phase of the ceasefire which took effect on October 10. Before Sunday, the previous hostage had been recovered in early December.

Although Israel has already conducted search efforts to find Gvili, more details than usual have been released about it. The Israeli military said it was searching a cemetery in northern Gaza, near the Yellow Line, which demarcates parts of the territory controlled by Israel.

Separately, an Israeli military official said Gvili may have been buried in the Shijaiya-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, and that rabbis and dental experts were on the ground with specialized search teams. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing an operation still underway.

Gvili’s family urged Netanyahu’s government not to enter the second phase of the ceasefire until his remains are returned.

But pressure is mounting and the Trump administration has already declared in recent days that the second phase is underway.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in recovering the last hostage. Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that it had provided all the information it had about Gvili’s remains and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.

UN agency office set on fire

The closed headquarters of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem was set on fire overnight, days after Israeli bulldozers demolished parts of the complex.

It is not known who started the fire. Israeli settlers were observed at night looting the main building for furniture, said Roland Friedrich, the agency’s West Bank director. He said several holes were drilled in the fence.

Israeli firefighters said they had sent crews to prevent the fire from spreading. In May 2024, UNRWA announced the closure of its compound after settlers burned its fence.

Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini of the agency, also known as UNRWA, told The Associated Press that the incident was the “latest attack on the United Nations in the ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestinian refugees.”

UNRWA’s mandate is to provide assistance and services to some 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as an additional 3 million refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. But its operations were scaled back last year when the Israeli Knesset passed a law severing ties and banning it from operating in what it defines as Israel, including East Jerusalem.

Israel has long attacked the agency, accusing it of being infiltrated by Hamas and alleging that some of its employees were involved in the 2023 attack that sparked Israel’s two-year war in Gaza. UNRWA leaders said they took swift action against employees accused of taking part in the attack and denied allegations that the agency tolerated or collaborated with Hamas.