US official: We won’t hold up phase two for last hostage’s body, but we’re committed to finding remains

A “very good channel of communication” is operating to find the body of the final deceased Israeli hostage still held in Gaza and there are several potential sites where his remains may be located, says a senior US official.

“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,” says the US official in a briefing with reporters, confirming The Times of Israel’s reporting from last week.

The US official also argues that Wednesday’s launch of the Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with running affairs in Gaza instead of Hamas, along with continued progress on President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, will boost chances of locating Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili’s body.

Israel had pushed back on advancing to phase two of Trump’s Gaza plan, which envisions the establishment of various bodies responsible for the postwar management of Gaza, 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 didn’t want to hold things up any longer and would continue the search for Gvili’s remains alongside simultaneous efforts to disarm Hamas with the operationalization of phase two, officials told The Times of Israel.

The US official briefing reporters also touts humanitarian operations since the ceasefire and phase one of Trump’s plan came into place in October, saying 53,120 trucks of aid — two million pallets worth — have entered the Strip since. The official adds that cooperation between Israel and the UN has increased.

While basic food supplies have indeed increased significantly, shelter has become a major issue, with aid organizations lamenting Israeli restrictions on metal polls necessary to stabilize tents that have been filmed falling apart amid peak winter conditions. Israel says those materials could be used by Hamas for weapons and has therefore not been allowing them into Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are living in tents.

The US official says that progress has also been made in destroying tunnels, with 50 kilometers worth already demolished and several tons of rubble cleared, making room for several square kilometers of space to build new temporary housing for Gazans. The first such project is planned to go up on the ruins of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, officials have told The Times of Israel.