US President Donald Trump said that US intelligence knows where slain Israeli hostage St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili's body is located within Gaza, during a Tuesday press conference in Washington, DC.
"We got the 28 hostages; they have one left, that we think we know where it is. Amazing," Trump said.
“President Trump’s statement confirms what we have been saying for the past three months: Hamas knows exactly where our son is and has knowingly and deliberately violated President Trump’s framework and the agreement to return all hostages," Gvili's mother, Talik, said in a Tuesday evening statement following Trump's announcement.
"The responsibility now lies with the Government of Israel and the US administration to exert the full weight of their authority to ensure that Hamas fulfills its obligations under the agreement, or guarantee that serious sanctions are imposed on Hamas."
"We have no doubt that he is a man of his word, and we believe we will see Rani home soon," she concluded, reaffirming that the government must "refrain from any steps toward implementing Phase Two until Rani has returned.”
According to a report from Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the group has shared all available information about the location of Gvil. He said, "We have provided all the information we have regarding the body of the last Israeli prisoner (Ran Gvili)."
Who is St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili?
Gvili, the last remaining Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip, was taken captive on October 7 during the battle at Kibbutz Alumim.
“The intelligence is that Ran was not killed on the spot," Gvili's mother, Talik, told Maariv in a December interview.
"We know he was wounded in the heroic battle at Kibbutz Alumim, hit by a bullet in his hand and shoulder area. Intelligence believes he didn’t receive medical treatment and therefore didn’t survive," she added.
On January 7, a source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that, in coordination with Israel, Hamas restarted its search for Gvili's remains.
The search is occurring in Zeitoun, in northern Gaza. The neighborhood is split by the Yellow Line that divides the enclave between Hamas-controlled areas and Israel-controlled territories. The coordination with Israel allows Hamas to continue the search on the IDF’s side of the Yellow Line.
Trump's press conference: Crime, immigration, and Minnesota
The remainder of Trump's Tuesday statements largely focused on the US economy, recent clashes between the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and civilian protesters in Minnesota, and the criminal records of various individuals who had been recently detained by ICE.
"You've got to let the UN continue," Trump also said, when asked about his plans for Gaza's Board of Peace, which has alarmed international experts.
"The UN just hasn't been very helpful. I am a big fan of the UN potential, but it has never lived up to its potential," Trump told reporters in a briefing at the White House.
"I believe you've got to let the UN continue because the potential is so great," he added.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.