The Israeli army announced on Monday (26) the recovery of the remains of Ran Gvili, identified as the last Israeli held in the Gaza Strip. According to military authorities, the completion of the identification process allows progress to the next phase of the ceasefire agreement signed in October, which provides for gradual measures to end the war between Israel and Palestine. The information was released preliminarily by Israeli forces, at the end of a search and forensic operation, according to Al Jazeera.
According to Israeli Army spokesman Avichay Adraee, the confirmation came after examinations conducted by the National Center for Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israeli Police and the Military Rabbinate. “Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center for Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israeli Police and the Military Rabbinate, representatives [of the Army] informed the family of the deceased Ran Gvili that his body had been returned for burial,” Adraee stated, officially informing the family about the body’s return.
In the same statement, the spokesperson affirmed that the recovery concludes the chapter on Israeli hostages in Gaza. “Thus, all hostages held in the Gaza Strip have been repatriated,” said Adraee, reinforcing that there are no more Israelis in custody in the Palestinian territory, according to the official version from Tel Aviv.
The announcement comes after Hamas’s military wing reported that it had passed on “all the details” to the truce mediators regarding the possible location of the last captive’s body. The return was stipulated in the terms of the US-mediated ceasefire and was considered an essential condition for implementing subsequent stages of the agreement.
Prior to confirmation, the Israeli government had conditioned the reopening of the Rafah crossing, which connects Gaza to Egypt, on locating the last captive. Even with the recovery of the remains, Israel maintains its position that the border crossing will be reopened in a restricted manner, “on a limited basis,” exclusively for the movement of people, without authorization for the regular flow of goods.
Source: brasil247.com