‘No more hostages in Gaza’: IDF recovers last captive held by Hamas; remains repatriated to Israel

Israel military on Sunday recovered the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza Ran Gvili and repatriated to Israel for burial.

"Following the identification process conducted by the National Forensic Centre, in cooperation with the Israeli police and the military rabbinate, representatives of the (Israeli military) informed the family of hostage Ran Gvili... that their loved one had been formally identified and repatriated for burial," IDF said in a statement.




"With this, all hostages have been returned from the Gaza Strip to the State of Israel", it added.

“There are officially no more hostages in captivity in Gaza,” IDF said in a social media post on X.



24-year-old Gvili was a non-commissioned officer in the Israeli police's elite Yassam unit. He was killed in action during Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and his body taken to Gaza.

‘Down to the very last captive’

Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the return of all those held captive "down to the very last".

"This is an extraordinary achievement for the State of Israel. We promised -- and I promised -- to bring everyone back. We brought them all back, down to the very last captive," Netanyahu said.

"It is a tremendous achievement for the Israel Defense Forces, for the State of Israel, and also for the citizens of Israel," Netanyahu 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 first phase of the US-backed ceasefire deal which came into effect in October had stipulated that Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas hand over all the remaining hostages, living and dead.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said that the discovery of the body confirms Hamas's commitment to all the requirements of the ceasefire agreement.

"The discovery of the body of the last Israeli prisoner in Gaza confirms Hamas's commitment to all the requirements of the ceasefire agreement on the Gaza Strip, including the prisoner exchange process and its complete closure as stipulated in the agreement,” he said.