Hamas terrorists on Wednesday renewed their search for the last slain Israeli hostage, Border Police officer Sergeant first class Ran Gvili, in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, close to the Gaza border and within sight of Israel Defense Forces troops stationed in the area.
The searches are being carried out near the so-called yellow line, adjacent to the border, as Israeli forces observe from nearby positions.
At the same time, Israel is signaling that it expects to soon reopen the Rafah crossing in both directions, as demanded by Hamas through Qatari mediation. Israeli officials say the move would be contingent on the return of Gvili’s remains and would effectively mark the start of Phase 2 of the agreement with the terrorist organization in Gaza.
Last month, the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat quoted Palestinian sources claiming that Israel abducted an operative from the Islamic Jihad’s military wing as part of efforts to locate Gvili’s body. The report said Israel had been conducting covert activity inside Gaza during the search.
According to the report, the operation included the abduction of a field operative from the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, a resident of the Zeitoun neighborhood near Palestine Square in Gaza City.
Sources within Islamic Jihad told the newspaper that Gvili’s body had initially been in their possession and was later transferred, after a short period, to Hamas operatives and field commanders in Gaza City. They cited coordination between the factions as one of the reasons for the transfer.
Hamas sources said Gvili had been held by the organization for an extended period and was kept in the Zeitoun neighborhood for several months before the ceasefire. They claimed that “everyone who oversaw his captivity and everyone who knew his location was eliminated in separate operations.”
About three weeks ago, Israel passed information to mediators that could assist in locating Gvili. Terrorist organizations later claimed that all attempts to find him had failed.
Islamic Jihad said it had returned all hostages who were held by its operatives. Hamas sources said searches for Gvili were conducted at four locations where Israel believes his remains may be located, in the Shajaiyah and Zeitoun neighborhoods of eastern Gaza City.
“Searches were carried out at the sites, but no findings were discovered,” Hamas sources said, attributing the lack of results to the killing of those involved in holding Gvili, as well as to extensive destruction and excavation in the area following Israeli strikes.