People on Hostage Square hold placards bearing the face of Ran Gvili, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 21, 2025. ILIA YEFIMOVICH / AFP
The Israeli military said Monday, January 26, that the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, had been identified and repatriated to Israel for burial. A non-commissioned officer in the Israeli police's elite Yassam unit, Gvili was killed in action during Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza. He was 24 at the time of his death. Officials had said on Sunday that Israeli forces were searching for his remains in a cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
"Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, [Israeli military] representatives informed the family of the deceased hostage Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili, that their loved one has been identified and will be returned for burial," an army statement said. "With this, all hostages have been returned from the Gaza Strip to the State of Israel," it added.
Of the 251 people abducted during the assault on Israel, which sparked the devastating war in Gaza, Gvili's was the last body remaining in the Palestinian territory. The gradual return of the hostages over several stages has been a complicated and arduous process for both sides.
