The Israeli Defence Force has confirmed it has retrieved the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza, bringing an end to efforts to recover all those taken captive.
Soldiers recovered the body of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili during a targeted operation in the heavily damaged enclave.
The retrieval completes the return of all living and deceased hostages from Gaza, fulfilling a key condition of the initial phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict.
Mr Gvili’s recovery marks the conclusion of lengthy military efforts to locate and bring home all Israeli hostages seized during the conflict.
Israel has said it will now reopen Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt once Mr Gvili’s remains are formally returned or the search operation concludes.
The Rafah crossing serves as Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world and is the primary route in and out of the territory for nearly all of its two million residents. The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.
The crossing was briefly reopened in early 2025 to allow the evacuation of sick and wounded Palestinians for medical treatment as part of a previous ceasefire deal.
Further details regarding the circumstances of Mr Gvili’s death and the operation to recover his remains have not yet been released by the IDF.
