Netanyahu reiterates opposition to Palestinian state

The Israeli prime minister made the comments in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Last Updated: December 7, 2025, 11:12 AM EST

The ceasefire in Gaza is broadly holding, with Israeli forces inside the strip having pulled back to the so-called "yellow line."

Nonetheless, sporadic clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and Gaza militants -- plus deadly IDF airstrikes -- continue.

The remains of one deceased hostage are still thought to be in Gaza. Israeli authorities have been releasing Palestinian prisoners and the bodies of deceased Palestinians detainees in exchange for the return of hostage remains.

Dec 03, 2025, 11:15 AM EST

Coffin carrying possible deceased hostage turned over to Red Cross

The Red Cross is in possession of a coffin of carrying what is believed to be a deceased hostage that will be turned over to Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip, the IDF and the Shin Bet said in a joint statement Wednesday.

The coffin will be taken to Israel for identification.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Dec 03, 2025, 7:03 AM EST

Egypt denies Rafah crossing opening soon

Egypt’s State Information Service denied the announcement by Israeli authorities that there is coordination to open the Rafah crossing in the "coming days" for departures from the Gaza Strip.

In this file photo, a truck loaded with humanitarian aid awaits permission on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip, to drive toward the besieged Palestinians territory on July 27, 2025
Str/AFP via Getty Images

Egyptian officials quoted an official source as saying that if an agreement is reached to open the crossing, movement would be permitted in both directions -- for entry into and exit from Gaza -- in accordance with arrangements outlined in U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan.

Israeli officials earlier on Wednesday said the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip "will open in the coming days exclusively for the exit of residents" from Gaza.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Ayat Al-Tawy

Dec 03, 2025, 6:46 AM EST

Rafah crossing to open as exit from Gaza in 'coming days,' COGAT says

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip "will open in the coming days exclusively for the exit of residents" from Gaza, the Israeli Ministry of Defense's unit in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, called COGAT, said on Wednesday.

In this file photo, people stand in front of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing during the first hours of a four-day truce in the battles between Israel and Hamas militants, on Nov. 24, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images

"The residents' exit through the Rafah Crossing will be facilitated through coordination with Egypt, following security approval by Israel and under the supervision of the European Union mission, similar to the mechanism that operated in January 2025," COGAT said in a statement on social media.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Dec 03, 2025, 3:15 AM EST

Transferred remains don't belong to remaining hostages, Israel says

The most recent remains transferred to Israel from the Gaza Strip match neither of the two hostages thought to be held by Hamas, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday.

The remains returned on Tuesday "are not linked to any of the deceased abductees," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, citing findings from the National Center for Forensic Medicine.

A vehicle carrying the remains of a person whom Hamas claims is a deceased hostage, transferred earlier today by Gaza militants to Israeli authorities, arrives at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

Further information about the remains was not immediately released.

Netanyahu’s office said the families of the two remaining hostages in Hamas hands, both of whom are presumed dead, were notified of the findings.

PHOTO: A Palestinian Hamas militant looks on as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross use a digger as they search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages in northern Gaza on Dec. 1, 2025.
A Palestinian Hamas militant looks on as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), unseen, use a digger as they search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.
Omar Al-qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

"The effort to return them will not stop until the mission is completed -- to bring them to a proper burial in their country," Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Jordana Miller

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