October 1, 2026
JERUSALEM (AP) — The remains of the final hostage abducted from Israel by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, have been recovered in Gaza, Israel's military said Monday, clearing the way for the next phase of the ceasefire that paused the Israel-Hamas war.
The announcement that the remains of Ran Gvili had been found and identified came a day after Israel’s government said the military was conducting a “large-scale operation” in a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it “an incredible achievement” for Israel and its soldiers, telling Israeli media that “I promised we would bring everyone home and we have brought everyone home." He said Gvili, who was killed during the Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war, was among the first to be taken into Gaza.
The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase, and Gvili’s family had urged Israel’s government not to enter the second phase until his remains were recovered and returned.
Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that Israel would open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which Palestinians see as their lifeline to the world, once the search for Gvili was finished. It has been largely shut since May 2024, except for a small period in early 2025.
Israel and Hamas had been under pressure from ceasefire mediators to move into the second phase of the U.S.-brokered truce, which took effect on Oct. 10.
Israel had repeatedly accused the terror group Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage. Hamas said it had provided all the information it had about Gvili’s remains.
Israel’s military had said the large-scale operation to locate Gvili’s remains was “in the area of the Yellow Line” that divides the territory.
Terrorists killed about 1,200 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and abducted 251 people. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as “Rani,” was killed while fighting Hamas terrorists.
Before Gvili’s remains were recovered, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others had been returned to Israel since the ceasefire, most recently in early December. Israel, in exchange, has released the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians to Gaza.
The next phase of the 20-point ceasefire plan has called for creating an international stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government, and disarming Hamas.
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