With the return of the body of murdered hostage Dror Or, two slain hostages remain in Hamas hands: Ran Gueli and Thai citizen Suttisak Rintlak. Israel continues to pressure Hamas to disclose their whereabouts. Searches are ongoing on the ground, though, as one Israeli source put it, “on a low flame.”
Israel is focusing on the hostage for whom there is at least general intelligence. Locating the second is far more difficult. In Jerusalem there is hope that Hamas can return at least one of the bodies. Through mediators, Israel will offer to intensify the joint search. An Israeli source confirmed: “There is a lead on both, and Hamas could invest more – they can be brought back.”
Israel may never have expected the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan to materialize. Yet while pressure from Washington is mounting, Israel’s position remains unchanged: no transition to Phase Two until all slain hostages have been returned.
That is why the Rafah crossing remains closed; Israel is neither expanding...
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