Israel Recovers Body of Last Gaza Hostage, Ran Gvili

The IDF announced on Sunday that it has located and identified the body of police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili at a Muslim cemetery in eastern Gaza City, marking the return of the final Israeli hostage from the Gaza Strip. Gvili’s family was notified by military representatives that his body is being brought back to Israel for burial.

With the recovery of Gvili’s remains, Israeli officials confirmed that no hostages remain held in Gaza for the first time since 2014. Gvili was abducted during the Hamas invasion and massacre of October 7, 2023.

Gvili, 24, was a police officer and a member of the Yasam counter-terror unit. He was killed defending Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel during October 7 and was abducted after his death by Hamas terrorists.

According to the IDF, Israeli forces began exhuming hundreds of bodies at the cemetery in eastern Gaza City over the weekend as part of a focused search operation. Roughly 250 bodies were examined. Dentists deployed to the site were able to confirm a match based on dental structure, with additional fingerprint and forensic tests conducted to definitively establish Gvili’s identity. He was the 250th body examined.

Following the identification, the military said all other exhumed remains would be returned to their graves and the cemetery restored “out of respect for the dead.”

The recovery operation, known as Operation “Lev Amitz,” lasted approximately 48 hours and was carried out beyond the Yellow Line, with reserve forces, combat engineers, and the Military Rabbinate taking part. 

Israeli officials said the army had long held several competing intelligence assessments regarding where Gvili’s remains might be located. One assessment suggested he had been buried at the cemetery due to mistaken identity. Another pointed to a tunnel roughly one kilometer away, which combat engineers drilled into and thoroughly searched. Additional possibilities included burial near Shifa Hospital or at another cemetery in Gaza City, but both locations are on the Hamas side of the ceasefire line and were not searched.

In recent days, new intelligence strengthened the assessment that Gvili was buried at the cemetery, prompting approval of the operation. The IDF stressed that Hamas did not provide the information, saying the terror group attempted to claim credit only after it became clear Israeli forces were closing in on the site.

Speaking in the Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the recovery as a defining moment for the country. “We promised, and I promised, to bring everyone back, and we brought everyone back, to the very last one,” he said.

“Rani is a hero of Israel. He went in first, he came out last. He came back,” Netanyahu added, declaring that “there are no more hostages in Gaza.” Netanyahu also recited the Shehecheyanu blessing, thanking God for reaching the moment.

Defense Minister Israel Katz called the recovery “a painful moment of closure,” saying it underscored Israel’s commitment “to bring every single one home, as we promised the families and the Israeli public.” He offered condolences to the Gvili family and thanked IDF soldiers for their “extraordinary determination and commitment.”

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir spoke with the family after the identification. “We have completed the mission of returning all the hostages, both the living and the fallen, and upheld the very significant IDF value of leaving no one behind,” he said. Police Chief Daniel Levy also updated Gvili’s father, Itzik Gvili, praising Ran’s “determination and bravery” and noting that he shielded civilians with his body.

Footage released by the military showed IDF soldiers at the cemetery singing “Ani Ma’amin,” a Jewish declaration of faith often associated with resilience and hope.

In a separate address, Netanyahu said the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire would focus on “disarming Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” stressing that Israel intends to advance that phase without delay.

For Gvili’s family, the moment brought a measure of relief after years of uncertainty. His mother, Talik Gvili, said, “It is a relief, after these two and a half years, even though we hoped for a different ending.”