After 843 days, there are no more Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had recovered the remains of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer whose body was taken into the enclave after he was killed on 7 October 2023. He was the last. His return closes out a saga that consumed Israel for more than two years and stalled the US-brokered ceasefire with Hamas.
Gvili served in the Israeli Police Special Forces. On the morning of the attack, he was home recovering from a broken shoulder, according to ABC News. When he heard gunmen were attacking partygoers at the Nova Music Festival, he went anyway. He was among the first Israeli forces to reach Kibbutz Alumim, where he was killed fighting militants trying to breach the community. Hamas took his body.
His remains turned up at al-Batesh cemetery in northern Gaza at around 2:00 p.m. local time on Monday. Dental records confirmed his identity.
A Captured Militant Gave Up The Location
The Shin Bet got the break about a month ago when they captured an Islamic Jihad operative, the Jerusalem Post reported. Under interrogation, he gave up the names and whereabouts of other militants who had moved Gvili's body multiple times since the attack. The IDF had been looking at four possible sites, including a tunnel and an area beneath Shifa Hospital, but fresh intelligence pointed them toward the cemetery on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow Line.
A large-scale operation began Sunday. By Monday afternoon, they had him.
Footage released by the IDF showed dozens of soldiers, arms around each other, singing the national anthem as Gvili's body was exhumed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Knesset shortly after, saying Israel had kept its word. Gvili was posthumously promoted to first sergeant. His funeral is set for Wednesday in his hometown of Meitar.
Trump Takes Credit, Rafah Set To Reopen
US President Donald Trump was quick to claim the win on Truth Social, crediting his team for bringing back all 20 living hostages and all of the dead. Two US officials told CNN that Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey had been key to getting Hamas to cooperate.
Netanyahu's office said the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt would reopen, though only for pedestrians. No commercial goods or humanitarian aid. Israeli inspection required, NBC News reported. The crossing has been shut since May 2024. EU officials and Palestinian forces will run it under Shin Bet oversight.
The Family Can Finally Bury Their Son
Gvili's mother, Talik, posted on Facebook that her son was the first to go and fight in defence of the border communities and the last to come back. She called him a hero.
His sister Shira told the Hostages and Missing Families Forum she felt overwhelming relief, even as the grief hit. He is survived by his parents, Shira, and his brother Omri.
Hamas said the return shows it held up its end of the ceasefire, Al Jazeera revealed. The group demanded Israel do the same: open Rafah in both directions, let in aid, and pull its forces out entirely.
Under the ceasefire that took effect on 10 October 2025, Hamas released 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others before Gvili. Some 251 people were abducted during the 7 October 2023 attack, when Hamas-led militants killed more than 1,200 Israelis. Gvili's return marks the first time since 2014 that no Israeli hostages remain in Gaza.
Netanyahu said Israel is now ready for what comes next: dismantling Hamas's military and demilitarising the strip. The second phase of the ceasefire calls for an international stabilisation force, a technocratic Palestinian government, and the disarmament of Hamas. Trump has warned that if the group refuses, there will be hell to pay.
