Jerusalem, Israel — The Israeli military has confirmed that it has retrieved the remains of Master Sgt Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza, a development that could clear the way for the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the war-torn enclave.
Gvili, a Yamam commando fighter, was killed during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and his body was abducted into Gaza. Israeli forces had been searching for him since the ceasefire with Hamas began in October.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the recovery as “an extraordinary achievement,” saying Israel had fulfilled its promise to bring back all hostages.
“We promised — and I promised — to bring everyone back. We brought them all back, down to the very last captive,” Netanyahu said.
Search Operation and Intelligence Breakthrough
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said improved intelligence over the weekend led to a search of a cemetery near Gaza City, located close to the “Yellow Line,” the boundary of territory still under Israeli control under the ceasefire deal.
A military official said the breakthrough made it possible to locate and retrieve Gvili’s body on Sunday morning.
The IDF confirmed in a statement that Gvili, aged 24 at the time of his death, had fallen in battle on the morning of October 7 and that his body was taken into Gaza.
“The IDF shares in the family’s grief and will continue to accompany the families and the returned hostages,” the military said, adding that all hostages from Gaza have now been returned.
Hamas Confirms Cooperation
Hamas’s armed wing said it had provided mediators with “all the details and information” needed to locate Gvili’s remains.
Spokesman Hazem Qassem said the discovery confirmed Hamas’s commitment to the ceasefire agreement.
“We kept updating the mediators with the necessary information, which resulted in retrieving the body,” Qassem said.
Ceasefire Terms and Hostage Returns
Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas was expected to return all hostages — living and dead — within 72 hours of the truce taking effect.
In total, 20 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 27 Israeli and foreign hostages were handed over. Gvili was the only one still unaccounted for.
The policeman was among 251 hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed.
Most of the captives were released alive over the following two years in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
Implications for Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan
The retrieval of Gvili’s remains is expected to unlock progress on phase two of President Trump’s peace initiative for Gaza.
Israel had resisted moving forward with the plan until Gvili was found.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel would reopen Gaza’s key border crossing with Egypt once the operation to retrieve Gvili was completed.
Phase two of the plan is meant to focus on:
- The reconstruction of Gaza
- The full demilitarisation of the territory
- The disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups
- The deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF)
- The progressive withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza
War Toll in Gaza
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to the October 7 attack, has killed 71,660 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
