The final deceased Israeli hostage in Gaza taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack has returned to Israel following a military operation to retrieve the body, Israeli officials said.
Rani Gvili, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces, died in combat during the Hamas attack on Israel. Hamas took his body into Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF located his body in a cemetery in northern Gaza in the area of the so-called yellow line, which marks off Israeli-controlled parts of the territory, during an operation that began Sunday morning, according to an Israeli military official. Through dental identification, the hostage was confirmed to be Gvili, 24, according to the official.
“A short time ago, we returned the late Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while addressing the Knesset on Monday. Gvili was known as both Ran and Rani.
Netanyahu congratulated the IDF and the Israel Security Agency on the “perfect execution of this sacred mission.”
Gvili’s sister said the news is bittersweet.
“Wow, I feel an insane sense of relief. I feel relieved. I am sad. I’m very sad that it ended this way, but it had to end at some point. I am so happy he’s coming back home, Rani is on his way, Rani is coming,” Shira Gvili said, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The Israeli hostage crisis lasted 843 days. Hamas kidnapped 251 people during its surprise attack, with 85 returning in caskets. More than seven weeks have passed since a deceased hostage was retrieved from Gaza; on Dec. 3, the remains of a body were transferred to Israel and later identified as Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker.
Hamas’ return of all the Israelis hostages in Gaza, and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, was agreed upon in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered Gaza Strip ceasefire deal that began in October 2025. Gvili’s return brings to a close the first phase of the ceasefire. Israel and Hamas will now move into the second, more complicated phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
President Donald Trump celebrated the return of the final hostage in a post on social media, saying, “Most thought of it as an impossible thing to do.”
Hamas said it “exerted significant efforts” in the search for Gvili and provided “necessary information as it became available, which contributed to the recovery of the body.”
Hamas called on Israel to “complete the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement without any reduction or delay, and adhere to all its obligations,” including reopening the Rafah Crossing, a border crossing point between Egypt and Gaza that has been closed since May 2024.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday it has agreed to reopen the Rafah Crossing, a limited crossing for people, not goods, following the recovery of the final deceased hostage. The US has been pushing for the Rafah to be opened as soon as possible. It’s still unclear how and who will carry out security checks on those crossing into or leaving Gaza.
Ahead of the recovery of Gvili’s body, the Trump administration said earlier this month that the Gaza peace plan is moving into the next phase, which it said “begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza.” The thorniest issue is expected to be disarming Hamas.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
