JERUSALEM, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. announcement on advancing to the second phase of its Gaza plan will not affect Israel's demand that Hamas must return the last body of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.
He made the remarks after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff's posted on the social media platform X earlier Wednesday about the launch of the second phase of the Gaza peace plan, which shifts the focus from the ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.
It also came after Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye's announcement of completing the formation of a Palestinian technocratic committee to administer Gaza, following a meeting held in Cairo among Palestinian factions and political forces.
In a statement issued by Netanyahu's office after he spoke with the parents of Ran Guaili, the last hostage whose body is still held in Gaza, the Israeli prime minister said "the return of Ran is at the top of our priorities."
"The declaratory move regarding the establishment of a technocratic committee will not affect efforts to bring Ran back for burial in Israel," he said.
Israel expects that information conveyed to mediators by the Israeli government's coordinator for prisoners and missing persons would be "immediately translated into effective action on the ground," he said. ■
