Daniel Estrin

Most Palestinians have not been able to leave or enter Gaza since.

Now, Egyptian authorities, Palestinian security officers and European Union border patrol officers are making final arrangements to reopen the land crossing.

The Palestinian committee tasked with taking over Gaza's day-to-day affairs says Palestinians will begin to leave Gaza Monday.

The numbers are expected to be limited, only 50 medical patients daily, accompanied by two companions each.

Gaza health officials say 20,000 medical patients need to travel abroad for treatments unavailable in Gaza.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Jerusalem.

Israel's domestic security agency says it captured an operative from the Islamic Jihad militant group last month in Gaza, who provided information pointing to a cemetery in Gaza City.

An Israeli search team of more than 100 people went there Sunday and exhumed hundreds of Palestinian bodies until a dentist identified the hostages' body Monday through his dental records, a military official told Israeli radio.

In exchange, in the coming days, Israel is expected to hand over 15 Palestinians' bodies to Gaza, according to the ceasefire agreement.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Hamas captured 251 living and dead hostages from Israel in the October 7, 2023 attack.

Now, the last one has been returned.

He is Ron Gvili, a 24-year-old special forces policeman who was killed while fighting Hamas militants the day of the attack.

His body was taken to Gaza.

The military said it launched a special search operation for his body over the weekend in a cemetery in northern Gaza,

on the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza, acting based on intelligence.

It says his body has been returned to Israel for burial.

This marks the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

It paves the way for another big step.

Israel says it will allow Gaza's border crossing with Egypt to reopen again for Palestinians to enter and exit.