Top U.S. envoys met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday and urged his government to move into the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Netanyahu’s office said. The office said Netanyahu met with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but did not provide details of the talks.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that the envoys had been working closely with Netanyahu on recovering the remains of the last hostage in Gaza. The official also said the discussions covered next steps for demilitarizing the territory.
The report said the United States is anxious to keep the Trump-brokered deal moving. It also said Netanyahu faces pressure to wait until Hamas returns the hostage’s remains before proceeding to the next stage.
The biggest signal of the second phase, the report said, would be the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Ali Shaath, the head of a future technocratic government in Gaza expected to handle day-to-day affairs, said Thursday the crossing will open in both directions this coming week, without confirmation from Israel. Israel did not confirm the reopening and said it would consider the matter this week, while the Gaza side of the crossing is currently under Israeli military control.
The family of Ran Gvili, whose body is still in Gaza, urged more pressure on Hamas. In a statement Saturday, the family said “Hamas knows exactly where our son is being held,” adding that “Hamas is deceiving the international community and refusing to return our son, the last remaining hostage,” which it said amounts to “a clear violation of the agreement it signed.” The statement also cited remarks President Trump made in Davos.
Hamas, in a statement Wednesday, said it has provided “all information” it has on Gvili’s remains to ceasefire mediators. It accused Israel of obstructing search efforts in areas it controls in Gaza. The ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10.
Separately, Egypt’s top diplomat pressed for an immediate opening of the Rafah crossing with the director of Trump’s new Board of Peace in Gaza, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The ministry said Foreign Minister Bader Abdelatty spoke by phone with Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza, and that the call covered implementing the ceasefire’s second phase, including an international monitoring force, reopening Rafah in both directions, and withdrawing Israeli forces from the strip.
The foreign ministry said Abdelatty described implementing the second phase as a “key entry point” to launch Gaza’s reconstruction, and that its statement did not specify timing for opening Rafah for travelers or for evacuation of sick and wounded. Israel was expected to discuss opening the Rafah crossing during Sunday’s Cabinet meeting.
On Saturday, Hamas said a delegation met in Istanbul with the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization about the ceasefire’s second phase and “the fulfillment of the requirements of the first phase.”
Also on Saturday, an Israeli strike killed two Palestinian teens in Gaza, according to hospital authorities. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said cousins aged 13 and 15 were searching for firewood when they were killed, and it received the bodies.
A relative, Arafat al-Zawara, said the boys were killed about 500 meters from the Yellow Line, which separates Israeli-controlled areas in eastern Gaza from the rest of the strip. Israel’s military said it targeted several militants who crossed the Yellow Line and planted explosives, and it denied that those killed were children.
Since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that the report said are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, while Israel disputes the figures but has not provided its own. The story was corrected to show the spelling of the boy’s name is Mohammad.