The arrival of the American delegation was met with indignation by the family of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, whose body remains in Gaza.
(Jan. 24, 2026 / JNS) The family of the last deceased hostage held in Gaza raised concerns on Saturday following the news that U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Board of Peace member Jared Kushner were to arrive in Israel later in the day and reportedly pressure Jerusalem into opening the Strip’s Rafah Crossing to Egypt, despite Hamas’s failure to retrieve the body of Border Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.
U.S. President Donald Trump “himself said this week in Davos that Hamas knows where our son is. We wonder why the pressure is being directed at the wrong place?” Gvili’s family was cited as saying by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organization formed after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The forum has said in a statement that the goal of Witkoff’s and Kushner’s visit is to ensure the opening of the Sinai-Gaza border.