This was the moment Israel had been waiting for with profound anticipation.
On January 26, the Israeli army announced that the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage in the Gaza Strip, had been found. With this momentous announcement, Israelis unburdened themselves of a trauma that had weighed on them for the past two years.
Gvili’s corpse was belatedly discovered in a Muslim cemetery in Gaza City, three and a half months after it was supposed to be released by Hamas under a ceasefire agreement. Brokered by the United States, it effectively ended the Israel-Hamas war, which was triggered by Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
During Hamas’ one-day onslaught, roughly 1,200 people were killed and 251 were kidnapped. Gvili, a 24-year-old police sergeant serving in a counter-terrorism unit, was fatally shot while defending the border kibbutz of Alumim.
He was buried in Meitar, his hometown, on January 28.
The truce that began on October 10 required Hamas to turn over 20 living and 28 deceased captives within 72 hours. In exchange, Israel was expected to free almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
While Hamas abided by the terms of the ceasefire with respect to the living hostages, it dragged out the process concerning the dead ones, leaving Israel in limbo and Givili’s family, in particular, in a state of agony.
Hamas claimed that the location of Gvili’s body was unknown and that inclement weather had hampered the search. Israel countered that the delay was due to Hamas’ reluctance to enter phase two of the ceasefire, which calls for its disarmament.
Givili’s body was finally found by Israeli army soldiers and Shin Bet operatives in an intelligence-gathering operation to which a captured Islamic Jihad terrorist and Hamas contributed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom some Israelis accused of prolonging the war to suit his political needs, described Gvili’s recovery as “an extraordinary achievement” for Israel.
The chief of staff of the armed forces, General Eyal Zamir, said, “We have completed the mission of bringing everyone back, and we upheld a very meaningful Israel Defence Force value: leaving no one behind.”
It should be noted that U.S. President Donald Trump was instrumental in the release of the final hostages. As Karoline Leavitt, his White House press secretary said, “President Trump made this possible.”
The latest chapter in the events stemming from October 7 reminded Israelis that terrorism is always around the corner.
The abduction of so many Israelis and foreigners in one fell swoop shocked and traumatized the nation, left it to cope with the most serious intelligence failure in Israel’s history, and spawned a protest movement dedicated to bringing the hostages back home. The mass demonstrations, which took place in major cities and smaller towns, shook Israel to the core.
As the war in Gaza raged, the hostages were released in dribs and drabs. At least two of these sporadic exchanges degenerated into Hamas propaganda spectacles, which offended Israelis.
In the meantime, the pain and suffering of the remaining hostages were conveyed in videos released periodically by Hamas.
With the recovery and burial of Gvili’s body, the next phase of the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan can proceed.
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt finally can be reopened after a protracted closure, facilitating the further movement of humanitarian aid to Gazans.
A technocratic committee, composed of Palestinians and experts from abroad and supported by an international stabilization force overseen by Trump’s Board of Peace, is charged with administering Gaza, providing security and reconstructing it. Gaza, at present, resembles a devastated war zone. It will take at least tens of billions of dollars to rebuild.
More than 25 countries have agreed to join the Board of Peace. Apart from the United States, they are: Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
A few countries, however, have declined to participate. France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Britain and Ukraine have expressed reservations over the terms of reference.
Canada was disinvited by Trump in a pique of anger.
The elephant in the room, of course, is Hamas. Whether Hamas is amenable to laying down its arms and relinquishing control of Gaza is very debatable.
As far as Netanyahu is concerned, the key to peace is Hamas’ disarmament, an idea that Trump supports unreservedly.
Addressing the Knesset the other day, Netanyahu said that the next phase in Gaza would not be reconstruction, but rather the disarming of Hamas and Gaza’s demilitarization. In a warning, he said, “It will happen the easy way or the hard way. But it will happen.”
How it unfolds cannot be determined now. Countries that have voiced an interest in joining the international stabilization force have indicated they will not disarm Hamas. Which means that the messy task may well be assigned to Israel, which still has not destroyed Hamas militarily, an objective to which Netanyahu is wholeheartedly committed.
Yesterday, he raised another important issue when he reiterated his opposition to Palestinian statehood.
As he put it, “I am hearing that I will allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza. That did not happen, and it will not happen. I think all of you know that the one who repeatedly stopped the establishment of a Palestinian state is me, together with my colleagues in the governments I have led. Even today and tomorrow, we will not allow this.”
He added, “Israel will maintain security control over the entire area from the Jordan River to the sea, and that applies to the Gaza Strip as well.”
At present, Israel controls 53 percent of Gaza, with Hamas controlling the remainder of its land mass. Since the ceasefire went into effect, three Israeli soldiers and more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in clashes.
Under Trump’s plan, Israel is supposed to withdraw from Gaza in stages. But judging by Netanyahu’s latest comments, he has no intention of relinquishing Israel’s hold on Gaza.
Nor is he prepared to allow the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza, regarding it as ineffectual and hostile to Israel.
All of which means that Trump’s grandiose plan is on shaky ground and may already be imperilled.