The Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday morning that remains transferred from Gaza for examination at Israel’s national forensic institute in Abu Kabir are not linked to Master Sgt. Ran Gvili or Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, who remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
The families of the two slain hostages have been notified. “The effort to bring them home will not stop until the mission is complete and they receive a proper burial in their homeland,” the statement said. A week has passed since the last slain hostage, Dror Or, was returned from Gaza.
The developments come as preparations continue for the second stage of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan. Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said mediation efforts are ongoing and expressed concern over “violations of the cease-fire.”
He said Qatar is working to prevent the current truce from collapsing and voiced confidence in the U.S. plan and in the mediators involved. According to Al-Ansari, there is no update yet on when the next phase of the agreement will begin. “Every violation of the cease-fire in Gaza threatens it and weakens its impact on the ground,” he said. “We are working to turn the cease-fire into a path toward the next stage of the agreement. One hostage’s body has not yet been transferred to Israel. What has been achieved so far is significant.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also addressed the agreement during a news conference in Berlin. He said Egypt hopes to allow unlimited humanitarian aid into Gaza, solidify the cease-fire and begin implementing the second stage of Trump’s plan to rebuild Gaza, including establishing an international peace council and stabilization force. He said the only path to lasting regional stability is a resolution of the Palestinian issue and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Two bodies of hostages killed in captivity remain in Gaza: Master Sgt. Ran Gvili and Thai farm worker Sudthisak Rinthalak.
Gvili, 24, from Meitar, a member of the Israel Police’s Yamam special unit, was killed in the battle at Kibbutz Alumim. He continued fighting despite a broken shoulder from a motorcycle accident and had been awaiting surgery. He deployed to the Gaza border, nevertheless. Gvili saved the lives of dozens of young festivalgoers at Re’im before being killed, and his body was taken to Gaza. He served for two years in the Negev patrol unit and joined its motorcycle team at a young age. He is survived by his parents, Itzik and Talik, and his siblings Omri and Shira.
Rinthalak, 43, a Thai citizen, was murdered in the Oct. 7 attack in the orchards of Kibbutz Be’eri and taken to Gaza. He had worked in agriculture for years and moved to Israel in 2017 to support his family.