Israel says remains of last hostage recovered from Gaza, clearing way for phase-two of ceasefire with Hamas

Israel said Monday that the remains of the last hostage in Gaza had been recovered, clearing the way for the next phase of the ceasefire that stopped the Israel-Hamas war. The announcement came a day after Israel's government said the military was conducting a "large-scale operation" in a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate the remains of Ran Gvili.

The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the Gaza ceasefire's first phase, and Gvili's family had urged Israel's government not to enter the second phase until his remains were recovered and returned.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said representatives had informed Gvili's family "that their loved one has been identified and is being buried."

"With this, all of the abductees have been returned from the Gaza Strip," the IDF said.

Israel and Hamas have been under pressure from ceasefire mediators, including the Trump administration, to move into the second phase of the U.S.-brokered truce, which took effect on Oct. 10.

Israel had repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage. Hamas had said 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. 

Both sides have accused the other of violations of the ceasefire since it came into effect, and dozens of Palestinians have been killed since October, including three journalists killed in an Israeli strike last week, one of whom had worked extensively for CBS News. 

Israel's military said of that attack, as it has other deadly instances during the ceasefire, that it was investigating, but claimed its forces had struck suspects who posed a threat to the safety of troops.

In a statement on Monday, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the recovery of Gvili's body, "confirms Hamas's commitment to all the terms of the agreement to halt the war on the Gaza Strip, including the exchange track and its full completion in accordance with the agreement. Hamas will continue to adhere to all aspects of the agreement, including facilitating the work of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and ensuring its success."

Qassem called on all mediators of the ceasefire, and the U.S. in particular, to compel Israel "to stop its violations of the agreement and to implement the obligations required of it."

Israel's military had said the large-scale operation to locate Gvili's remains was "in the area of the Yellow Line," which has divided the territory since the ceasefire came into effect.

The ceasefire deal aims to wind down the war that was sparked by the Hamas-led terrorist attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health says more than 71,000 people were killed in the territory during the war, a figure which CBS News cannot independently verify and which Israel disputes, though the United Nations considers it the most accurate death toll estimate available.

Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as "Rani," was killed while fighting Hamas militants during the attack.

Before Gvili's remains were recovered, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others had been returned to Israel during the ceasefire, most recently in early December. Israel in exchange has released the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians to Gaza.

The next phase of the 20-point ceasefire plan calls for creating an international stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.

President Trump has warned repeatedly that if Hamas refuses to disarm in line with the agreement, "there will be hell to pay."

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has launched his new international Board of Peace initiative, inviting dozens of nations to join his administration on a vaguely defined mission to end conflicts in the Middle East, and suggesting ambitions beyond the region.

While the Board of Peace was often mentioned by Mr. Trump as an entity that would focus on rebuilding the decimated Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory is was not mentioned explicitly in the board's founding charter, signed by Mr. Trump and about 20 other national leaders during the World Economic Forum in Davos last week.

European nations, America's oldest and closest allies, have thus far declined to join the board, and major rival powers China and Russia have also adopted a wait-and-see approach to the initiative.