""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.""
Heavy rains and poor weather in northern Gaza have delayed ground search operations to recover the body of the last Israeli hostage, preventing the transfer of the body to Israeli authorities. The delay has put the start of phase two of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on hold; phase two requires Hamas to lay down arms and Israeli forces to withdraw. The deceased is identified as 24-year-old Ran Gvili, a member of an elite police unit who was killed while helping people escape the Nova music festival. Family advocacy groups report no search operations are possible due to weather. Both sides accuse each other of violating first-phase terms, and Israeli strikes have continued, including the assassination of a senior Hamas military figure.
Read at www.npr.org
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