Remains of final Israeli hostage in Gaza recovered after 'large-scale operation'

Hamas said it provided all the information it had about the man’s remains, and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them.

THE REMAINS OF the final hostage in Gaza have been recovered, Israel’s military has said, clearing the way for the next phase of the ceasefire that paused the Israel-Hamas war.

The announcement that the remains of Ran Gvili had been found and identified came a day after Israel’s government said the military was conducting a “large-scale operation” in a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate them.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “an incredible achievement” for Israel and its soldiers, telling Israeli media that “I promised we would bring everyone home and we have brought everyone home”.

He said Mr Gvili, who was killed during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, was among the first to be taken into Gaza.

The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase, and Mr Gvili’s family had urged Israel’s government not to enter the second phase until his remains were recovered and returned.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said yesterday that Israel would open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which Palestinians see as their lifeline to the world, once the search for Mr Gvili was finished.

It has been largely shut since May 2024, except for a small period in early 2025.

Israel and Hamas have been under pressure from ceasefire mediators including Washington to move into the second phase of the US-brokered truce, which took effect on 10 October.

Israel had repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage.

Hamas had said it had provided all the information it had about Mr Gvili’s remains, and accused Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.

Israel’s military had said the large-scale operation to locate Mr Gvili’s remains was “in the area of the Yellow Line” that divides the territory.

Mr Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as “Rani”, was killed while fighting Hamas militants.

Before Mr Gvili’s remains were recovered, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others had been returned to Israel since the ceasefire, most recently in early December.

Israel in exchange has released the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians to Gaza.

The next phase of the 20-point ceasefire plan has called for creating an international stabilisation force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.

More than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire officially took effect, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.