Israel Recovers Body of Last Remaining Hostage, Ran Gvili, in Gaza Covert Operation

Israel Recovers Body of Last Remaining Hostage, Ran Gvili, in Gaza Covert Operation

Israel has recovered the body of the last remaining hostage, Ran Gvili, in a covert operation in Gaza. The recovery and identification of the remains has finally ends a more than two-year-long ordeal for the families and loved ones of the hostages in the wake of the October 7 attack.

The deceased hostage SFC Ran Gvili has been identified and will be returned for burial.

According to the information and intelligence available to us, SFC Ran Gvili, 24, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces, fell in combat on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, and his body… https://t.co/K4vFVsF60r pic.twitter.com/TN2CWMpKEM

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 26, 2026

“The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Tuesday that the remains of Ran Gvili, abducted during the October 7, 2023, attacks, have been identified and returned to Israel for burial, closing the final unresolved case from that day,” the TV channel i24NEWS reported Monday. “The identification process was carried out by the National Center for Forensic Medicine in coordination with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, and IDF representatives notified Gvili’s family once the process was complete.”

Footage shows IDF soldiers singing Ani Ma'amin at the cemetery in eastern Gaza City, where the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili was located and identified. pic.twitter.com/Dp7E7grbIM

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 26, 2026

The IDF conducted the covert operation after receiving credible intelligence concerning the whereabouts of the hostage’s remains. According to the Jerusalem Post, “recent intelligence gave indications that Gvili was buried in a Muslim cemetery in the Shejaiay Darah-Tuffah portion of northern Gaza on the Israeli side of the yellow line.”

As the IDF closed in on the hidden remains, Hamas tried to mislead the rescuers. “The IDF said that the intelligence it obtained about Gvili’s remains did not come directly from Hamas,” the newspaper added. “IDF sources implied that Hamas’s recent information about where Gvili might have been buried, may have been misdirection.”

For more than 3 months, Hamas has been refusing to handover Ran’s body despite a ceasefire reached on October 10, 2025, requiring it to return all hostages, alive and dead, immediately.

Ran Gvili, our hero, has returned home after 843 days.

Ran, a special forces police officer, went out to battle heroically in order to save lives on October 7th. Finally, Ran has been returned home to his family in Israel.

The entire people of Israel are moved to tears. Our… pic.twitter.com/y2P9Lr3ryS

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) January 26, 2026

“We have returned the late Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We have completed this mission, as I promised, and we shall likewise complete the rest of the goals we have set. He also lauded the IDF and the Shin Bet security agency for “perfect execution of this sacred mission.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset Plenum:
"We have returned Ran Gvili, of blessed memory, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza."

Full remarks >>https://t.co/Fr80SEPkyv pic.twitter.com/kMPPwY3JS6

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 26, 2026

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the recovery of Ran’s body in a brief statement:

Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of the deceased hostage Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili, that their loved one has been identified and will be returned for burial.

According to the information and intelligence available to us, Sergeant First Class, Ran Gvili, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces, 24 years old at the time of his death, fell in combat on the morning of October 7th, 2023, and his body was abducted to the Gaza Strip.

The IDF expresses deep condolences to family. The IDF will continue to support the families and the returnees, and to act to strengthen the security of the citizens of Israel.

With this, all hostages have been returned from the Gaza Strip to the State of Israel.

“Hatikva”- the hope 🇮🇱
IDF commanders pay their respect to the last hostage found in Gaza, Israeli hero Ran Gvili z”l
All for one. Leave no man behind! pic.twitter.com/XRuuNO38fp

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) January 26, 2026

Ran, who served in an Israeli border patrol unit, was killed by Palestinian terrorists on the morning of October 7, 2023. On that day, he saved more than 100 people from the Nova Festival and eliminated 14 terrorists before succumbing to bullet wounds.

IDF Chief of Staff LTG Zamir met with Itzik Gvili, father of Ran Gvili, after Ran’s body was returned to Israel.

Our hearts are with Ran’s family as they prepare to finally lay him to rest after 843 days of agony and torment. pic.twitter.com/P5meIcYHiO

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) January 26, 2026

“Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili, 24, from the community of Meitar, was killed in battle at Kibbutz Alumim and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists to the Gaza Strip. Gvili, the last remaining hostage, was held captive for 843 days,” Israel’s Ynetnews noted.

“Gvili served as a combat fighter in the Negev Border Police in the Southern District. On October 7, despite being injured with a broken shoulder from a motorcycle accident and scheduled for surgery, he went into combat,” the news outlet added. “He succeeded in saving the lives of dozens of revelers at the Re’im music festival before being killed and abducted.”

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