Israel recovers remains of last deceased Israeli captive in Gaza

Israel said Jan. 26 it has recovered the remains of the last deceased Israeli captive held in the Gaza Strip, a development that fulfills a key condition of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and clears the way for its next phase.

The Israeli military identified the remains as those of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer in a special forces unit who was killed while fighting during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, according to a statement from Israel Defense Forces (IDF). His body had been held in Gaza for more than two years.

The IDF said Gvili’s remains were recovered during an intelligence-led operation at a cemetery in central Gaza, where troops searched and examined multiple graves.

According to a report from FOX News, Israeli officials said the recovery fulfills the final requirement of the first phase of the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025. Israel had said it would not move forward with the next phase — including reopening the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt — until all hostages, living and dead, were returned.

Hours before the recovery was announced, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would open the crossing once the search concluded. After the announcement, a military official overseeing crossings into and out of Gaza said Rafah was expected to reopen in the coming days, pending government approval.

Gvili was shot while defending communities near Israel’s southern border and was later taken into Gaza by militants, according to the IDF. 

He was among about 250 people taken captive during the Oct. 7 attack, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel, the IDF website explains. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to reports from the United Nations, and displaced much of the enclave’s population.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and returned the remains of 27 others in phased exchanges. Gvili was the final captive whose remains had not yet been recovered.

President Donald Trump, whose administration helped broker the ceasefire, highlighted the recovery in a post on Truth Social.

 Netanyahu said the recovery marked the completion of Israel’s effort to bring back all those taken during the attack.

Netanyahu described the recovery of Gvili's remains as an "incredible achievement" in statements he made to Israeli media and while addressing the Israeli parliament on Jan. 26.