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By Ellie Cook and Shane Croucher
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The Israeli military has retrieved the remains of Ran Gvili, the final hostage still held inside the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday.
Why It Matters
The return of Gvili's body paves the way for the next stage of a long-negotiated ceasefire deal brokered by President Donald Trump's administration.
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The handing-over of living and deceased hostages had held up the start of the second step in Trump's 20-point plan after a ceasefire came into force in October 2025, although the president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, formally announced the "launch of Phase Two" and a new focus rebuilding Gaza in mid-January.
"Phase One delivered historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned all living hostages and the remains of 27 of the 28 deceased hostages," Witkoff said at the time.
What To Know
Gvili was 24 when he was killed during the October 7 attacks, according to the Israeli military. A police officer, he was fighting Hamas militants in the Israeli kibbutz of Alumim, which sits east of northern Gaza, Israeli media reported.
Approximately 1,200 people were killed in Israel when militants led by Gaza-based Hamas crossed from the territory into Israel on October 7, 2023. Another 251 people were taken as hostages into the strip.
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Israel, following the attack, launched a full-scale war in Gaza that has devastated the slip of territory and its roughly 2 million inhabitants. Hamas-run health authorities in the strip say more than 71,000 Gazans have been killed. This number does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Health officials in Gaza say nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire entered force in October.
Gvili's body had been held in the strip for more than two years and was positively identified by Israeli forensic experts, the IDF said in a statement posted online.
Israel's government had said on Sunday the IDF was conducting a "wide-scale operation" to locate Gvili's body in a cemetery in northern Gaza using "all the intelligence available." Israeli forces checked the remains of approximately 250 Palestinians buried at the site before finding Gvili's body, according to Israeli newspaper, the Jerusalem Post.
The chief of Israeli police, Daniel Levy, and the IDF's chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, spoke with Gvili's family on Monday afternoon local time, Israeli media reported.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump "made this possible."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late on Sunday that Israel had agreed to a "limited reopening" of the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza for pedestrians as part of Trump's plan. The crossing into Egypt has been shut for much of the last year and a half.
The flow of foot traffic through the crossing hinged on "the return of all living hostages" and a "100% effort" from Palestinian militant group Hamas to return the remains of all slain hostages in Gaza, Netanyahu's office added.
"The U.S. expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage," Witkoff said on January 14. "Failure to do so will bring serious consequences."
A statement attributed to Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the return of Gvili's body "confirms Hamas’s commitment to all the requirements of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, including the prisoner exchange."
What People Are Saying
"Ran Gvili, the last hostage, is brought home after 843 days," said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing many of the loved ones of those held as hostages in Gaza. "First to enter. Last to return."
White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Monday the turn of Gvili's remains was "incredible news."
"We promised and we delivered. Until the last hostage," Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said in a post to X on Monday.
“Hamas will continue to adhere to all aspects of the agreement, including facilitating the work of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and ensuring its success," said Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem.
Update 01/26/26, 11:50 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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