People walk through a gate to enter the Rafah border crossing to Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 1, 2023. (AFP)
Israel said it recovered the remains of the final hostage in Gaza on Jan. 26, following its previous announcement that the Rafah crossing’s "limited reopening" for pedestrians would only occur once the last remains were retrieved from the Palestinian territory.
Reopening Rafah, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza, forms part of a truce framework announced by U.S. 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.
Visiting U.S. envoys had reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing during talks in Jerusalem over the weekend.
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.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Jan. 26 that Israel had agreed to a reopening "for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism.”
The move would depend on "the return of all living hostages and a 100 percent effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages,” it said on X.
It remained unclear whether the reopening would allow medical patients to leave Gaza for treatment in Egypt or other countries.
The Israeli military said it was searching a cemetery in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 25 for the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili.
"Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the U.S., Israel will open the Rafah Crossing," said Netanyahu's office.
The Israeli military said on Jan. 26 that the remains of Gvili had been identified and repatriated to Israel for burial.
"Following the identification process conducted by the National Forensic Centre, in cooperation with the Israeli police and the military rabbinate, representatives of the [Israeli military] informed the family of hostage Ran Gvili... that their loved one had been formally identified and repatriated for burial," an army statement said.
"Thus, all the hostages held in the Gaza Strip have been repatriated," it added.
The announcement came after Gaza's newly appointed administrator, Ali Shaath, said 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 Jan. 22.
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 realize 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.
"Even if it is financially difficult and likely unstable, my children would be able to see what a normal life looks like and live it, at least they would be able to go to school," she said.
Israeli media had also reported that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had urged Netanyahu to reopen Rafah during their Jerusalem talks.
