The last hostage and the transition to stage B of the Gaza plan. Last week, Shin Bet Director David Zini visited Cairo, where he was given information suggesting that the last hostage in Gaza, Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, was in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood, although the information is not definitive. As a result, search efforts at the site will resume Sunday.
Meanwhile, Washington is pressing to declare the start of phase B of Trump's Gaza plan, with Gvili's return the only factor holding it up. Hamas claims it is not certain where he is and that there is no justification to delay the next phase.
In response, US officials want to clarify whether the terrorist organization is currently making, and has previously made, every possible effort to locate the final hostage. If it is determined that this is indeed the case, they argue there is no reason not to proceed with the next phase of the plan.
Trump wants to move ahead
A source familiar with the details said the US administration is applying heavy pressure on the matter, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that Hamas fulfill its obligation to return all the hostages as required under phase A of the gaza plan.
Under President Donald Trump's 20-point plan, phase A includes the return of all hostages, living and dead, within 72 hours, a deadline Hamas failed to meet. The plan also states that Hamas members who commit to peaceful coexistence and to disarmament will be rehabilitated and granted amnesty. So far, no Hamas member is known to have accepted these terms.
Despite the fact that these conditions have yet to be implemented, Trump aims to accelerate the timetable and begin reconstruction work in the Gaza Strip as early as March 2026.
Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24, a Yasam police officer from Meitar, is the last hostage still held in the Gaza Strip.
Gvili served in the Yasam Negev unit and fought with extraordinary bravery in the battle at Alumim on October 7. On the black Saturday, he left his home in Meitar for the Gaza border communities despite suffering from a shoulder fracture. There he rescued more than 100 people from the Nova music festival and killed 14 terrorists before being abducted.
