Israel recovers remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, last captive held in Gaza

The Israeli military said Monday that it had recovered the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer whose body was the last one held in Gaza, a development the military said clears the way to the second phase of President Trump’s cease-fire plan even as the path forward remains unclear.

Sergeant Gvili, who was part of an elite police counterterrorism unit, rushed into battle on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and allied militants launched a surprise assault that set off the two-year war in Gaza. He was shot and wounded defending a border community and then seized and taken to Gaza by militants from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to Israeli authorities.

The Israel Defense Forces said it identified his remains after a focused search in an area of central Gaza that began over the weekend, that his family had been notified and that he was being buried. The military said in a statement, "With this, all hostages have been returned from the Gaza Strip to the State of Israel." Israel had insisted Gaza’s border with Egypt would not reopen until Sergeant Gvili’s body was returned and announced early on Monday that it would reopen the Rafah Crossing once the search was complete, a move the military said would allow Palestinians who fled the enclave during the two-year war to return home.

The retrieval highlights unresolved elements of the cease-fire plan, which took effect on Oct.

Key Topics

World, Ran Gvili, Gaza Strip, Rafah Crossing, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas