Israel will reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt after completing an operation to locate the body of the last remaining Israeli hostage in the enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late on Sunday.

The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, was expected to reopen earlier under a ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war. However, Israel made the reopening conditional on the return of all living hostages and a “100% effort” by Hamas to locate and return the bodies of those who died in captivity.

rafah border

A boy stands next to a fence as displaced Palestinians who fled their homes due to Israeli strikes shelter at Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

All hostages have now been returned except for the body of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili. The Israeli military said it launched a “targeted operation” in northern Gaza on Sunday to recover his remains, citing several intelligence leads on his possible location.

“The Israeli military is currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return the fallen hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, of blessed memory,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “When the operation is complete, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing.”

On Thursday, Ali Shaath, head of a U.S.-backed transitional Palestinian committee set up to temporarily administer Gaza, said the crossing would open this week. The Rafah crossing is effectively the only route in or out of Gaza for most of its more than 2 million residents.

The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024. According to Netanyahu’s office, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of Rafah for pedestrian traffic only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism, as part of Trump’s 20-point plan.

Washington announced earlier this month that the plan had entered its second phase, which envisions Israel withdrawing troops further from Gaza and Hamas relinquishing control of the territory’s administration.

Last week, three sources told Reuters that Israel aims to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the Rafah crossing to ensure that more people are able to leave the enclave than enter it.