The Last Hostage Is Home, but Israel Still Faces Being Shackled by Trump’s Plan for Gaza

As Washington Accelerates Phase Two in Gaza, Jerusalem Risks Losing Control Over the Endgame

With the hostage file closed, Israel faces mounting pressure to accept a U.S.-led reconstruction and governance framework for Gaza while Hamas remains armed.

The bittersweet news that Israelis have been waiting for finally came on Monday.

The body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last slain hostage held in Gaza, was found by the IDF and returned to Israel for a proper burial.

Gvili’s return is a cathartic moment for Israel, as there are now no living or dead Israeli hostages in Gaza for the first time since 2014.

It is also an important one for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he had been pushed in recent days into allowing the re-opening of the Rafah Crossing before Gvili’s body had been found.

It doesn’t mean Netanyahu is out of the weeds, however.

Over the past few days, Israel’s control over the future of the Gaza Strip seems to have slipped drastically.

But Israel still retains control of key facets of the Strip, and maintains a potential pathway to continuing to assert itself in the future of the enclave, via US President Donald Trump.

It may still hope to arrest the accelerating rush toward phase two of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the start of reconstruction under the aegis of those it does not trust, though doing so will likely necessitate convincing the US leader.

Read the full story at Times of Israel.

Published originally on January 26, 2026.

Twitter
Telegram
LinkedIn
Email
Copy
Link copied
Print

Israel Gaza

Lazar Berman

Lazar Berman is the diplomatic correspondent at the Times of Israel, where he also covers Christian Affairs. He holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University and taught at Salahuddin University in Iraqi Kurdistan. Berman is a reserve captain in the IDF’s Commando Brigade and served in a Bedouin unit during his active service.