Search for body of last hostage held by Hamas in Gaza is delayed due to bad weather

TEL AVIV, Israel — Efforts to recover the body of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza have been hindered by heavy rains and bad weather in the enclave, according to an Israeli official who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

“Search operations and continued sweeps have been coordinated, but are currently delayed due to weather conditions in the northern Gaza Strip,” the official said.

The official told NPR that the search efforts are “expected to resume as soon as ground conditions allow.”

The beginning of phase two of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement is on hold, until the last body is transferred to Israeli authorities by Hamas.

Phase two would involve Hamas laying down its arms and an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.

The body of Ran Gvili, who was killed while trying to help people escape from the Nova music festival, is the last Israeli hostage held by Hamas. Gvili was 24 and the member of an elite police unit.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has advocated for the return of the hostages since the beginning of the war, told NPR that there were “currently no search operations underway,” because weather conditions did not permit it.

The Israeli military did not confirm the delays in search efforts for Gvili’s body but called on Hamas to “fulfill its part of the agreement.”

The Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Hazem Qassim, told NPR the search efforts were “very complicated.”

Both sides have blamed the other for violating the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire.

Israel has continued to strike Gaza since the ceasefire deal was reached in October, killing more than 380 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military assassinated a top Hamas leader it viewed as the second-in-command of the group’s military wing. Hamas called that a violation of the ceasefire.

Heavy rains have swamped thousands of tents used as shelters by already displaced Palestinians.

The United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, appealed to the Israeli military to allow more aid into Gaza.

“With heavy rain and cold brought in by Storm Byron, people in the Gaza Strip are freezing to death,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini posted on X.

Lazzarini said that the waterlogged ruins of buildings were collapsing.

Gaza civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said that dozens of Palestinians were killed when buildings collapsed.

“These buildings are a major nightmare in Gaza and threaten the lives of thousands of people,” Basal told NPR.

Itay Stern contributed to this report from Tel Aviv. Abu Bakr Bashir contributed from the United Kingdom. Ahmed Abuhamda contributed from Cairo.