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 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.”
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
“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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