The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday morning that “there are officially no more hostages in captivity in Gaza.”
The last body to be recovered was that of Sergeant First Class (SFC) Ran Gvili, who was killed while defending Israeli civilians from the savage Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Gvili, 24 years old at the time of his death, was a member of the Negev Border Police in the South District of Israel. He was on medical leave due to a broken shoulder from a motorcycle accident and had been scheduled for surgery when Hamas attacked. Heedless of his own injury, he rushed into battle to protect the civilian residents of Kibbutz Alumim and the Nova music festival.
According to the IDF, Gvili was shot in the leg during the battle and died on the scene, but the terrorist gang known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) stole his body and wound up holding his remains for 843 days.
The IDF said it found and identified Gvili’s remains after a “focused search” in central Gaza.
“It was unclear on Monday whether or to what degree (Hamas and PIJ) had assisted in pinpointing the location of Sergeant Gvili’s remains. Israel said it had narrowed its search after collecting and refining intelligence on the matter,” the left-wing New York Times (NYT) reported.
“Ran, hero of Israel – he went in first and came out last. This is a great achievement,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Monday.
“There are no more hostages in Gaza. We have an interest in bringing forward the next stage of the ceasefire, which includes the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu brought SFC Gvili’s family with him to the United States in December, where they met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The family urged both U.S. and Israeli officials to avoid moving forward with the ceasefire plan until Gvili, “the last remaining hostage in Gaza,” was returned home. Family members said both Trump and Netanyahu were committed to recovering his remains.
The NYT cited suspicions that Hamas and its allies have been deliberately slow-walking the return of hostages to delay the second phase of the ceasefire agreement brokered by President Donald Trump, because Phase Two requires Hamas to disarm and surrender its control over Gaza.
Brushing aside his organization’s questionable dedication to returning Gvili to his family, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem claimed the recovery of his body demonstrated the group’s “commitment to all the terms of the agreement to halt the war on the Gaza Strip, including the exchange track and its full completion in accordance with the agreement.”
“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,” he said.
Qassem then accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire with operations like the one that recovered Gvili’s remains.
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