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Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Trump: ‘We think we know’ location of body of last hostage in Gaza
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President Donald Trump says, “We think we know” where the body of the final deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, is being held in Gaza.
Trump makes the revelations during a White House press briefing while going through his administration’s accomplishments during his first year in office.
Israel had pushed back on advancing to phase two of Trump’s Gaza plan before Hamas has handed over Gvili’s body along with its weapons. But top US officials informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Florida last month that they did not want to hold things up any longer and would continue the search for Gvili along with efforts to disarm Hamas simultaneously with the operationalization of phase two, officials told The Times of Israel.
A “very good channel of communication” is operating to find Gvili’s remains and there are several potential sites where his body may be located, said a US official during a briefing with reporters last week.
“We will not consider this mission completed until the last body is found. With that being said, we are not going to hold up going to phase two for that because both parties have agreed to continue working in good faith,” the US official said.
The US official also argued that last week’s launch of the Palestinian technocratic committee, along with continued progress on Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, would boost the chances of locating Gvili’s body.
The Times of Israel Community.