UN Welcomes Last Gaza Hostage Remains Return

Occupied Jerusalem: The United Nations yesterday welcomed the recovery of remains of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza and said it was time to fully implement a ceasefire deal after more than two years of devastation.

"We welcome reports on that development and extend our condolences to his family. The full implementation of the ceasefire arrangements in Gaza is absolutely critical," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Remains of the last hostage held in Gaza were identified and repatriated to Israel yesterday.

The Israeli authorities have confirmed that all hostages have now been returned from the Gaza Strip.

Officials had said on Sunday that Israeli forces were searching for his remains in a cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip. The gradual return of the hostages over several stages has been a complicated and arduous process for both sides.

The first phase of the US-backed ceasefire deal which came into effect in October had stipulated that Hamas hand over all the remaining hostages, living and dead.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement that: "The discovery of the body of the last Israeli prisoner in Gaza confirms Hamas's commitment to all the requirements of the ceasefire agreement on the Gaza Strip, including the prisoner exchange process and its complete closure as stipulated in the agreement."

Central Gaza's Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said yesterday it had received nine living Palestinian detainees released by Israel.

"Nine Palestinian detainees from Gaza arrived at the hospital a short while ago via Red Cross teams, after the occupation released them today," the hospital said in a statement.

Israel said earlier yesterday that it would only allow pedestrians to travel through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as part of its“limited reopening” once it has recovered the remains of the last hostage in the Palestinian territory.

Reopening Rafah, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza, forms part of the truce framework announced by US President Donald Trump in October, but the crossing has remained closed since Israeli forces took control of it during the war in the Palestinian territory.

World leaders and aid agencies have repeatedly pushed for more humanitarian convoys to be able to access Gaza, which has been left devastated by more than two years of war and depends on the inflow of essential medical equipment, food and other supplies.

It remained unclear whether the reopening would allow medical patients to leave Gaza for treatment in Egypt or other countries. Gaza's newly appointed administrator, Ali Shaath, said earlier the crossing would open“in both directions” this week.

“For Palestinians in Gaza, Rafah is more than a gate, it is a lifeline and a symbol of opportunity,” Shaath said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.

Several Gazans told AFP that it was depressing to hear Israel had only agreed to a limited reopening of the crossing.

“After two and a half years of war, doesn't the world realise that the entire population of Gaza is ill, and that people have the right to choose whether to stay or leave, even if only temporarily?” said Mohammed Ala, 49, who has not seen his wife since she travelled to Egypt for medical treatment before the war began.

Maha Youssef, 37, who was displaced to eastern Gaza City during the war, said“travel is a dream of returning to life” for Gazans

MENAFN27012026000063011010ID1110654592