Remains of last Israeli hostage in Gaza finally returned home

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(Compiled from Times of Israel and NY Post) – The remains of the last Israeli hostage being held in Gaza have finally been recovered after a dramatic investigation, Israel said Monday — a grim milestone designed to help clear the way for the next phase of the country’s cease-fire with Hamas.

Police Officer Ran Gvili’s body was located and identified after a “large-scale operation” in a cemetery in northern Gaza over the weekend, according to the Israel Defense Force.

The operation involved exhuming and testing about 250 bodies from the cemetery after the Palestinian terror group Hamas revealed that he may have been buried there.

“Ran is a hero of Israel. He went in first, he came out last. He came back,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that finding his body was an “extraordinary achievement for Israel.

“I promised we would bring everyone home, and we have brought everyone home,” he said.

The 24-year-old Gvili, who was a member of the Israeli Police Special Forces, fatally “fell in combat” at Kibbutz Alumim on the morning of the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks that triggered the now more than two-year war.

Gvili was awaiting surgery for a broken shoulder on October 7, when he began hearing about the Hamas invasion, a 50-minute drive from his family home in Meitar.

He threw on his uniform, hopped on his motorcycle, and sped to Kibbutz Alumim, where he battled Hamas terrorists for hours before he was killed.

“We knew where he was, he sent a location, he sent a selfie of his injury, and was in touch with his staff, he knew that backup was on the way,” his mother said in a recent interview with The Times of Israel.

For months, they held out hope that he was alive. However, on January 31, 2024, the IDF informed the Gvilis that intelligence showed that Ran had been killed on October 7 and that his body had been abducted to Gaza.

Contacting the family after Gvili’s body was found, Police Chief Daniel Levy spoke with his father, Itzik, and stressed the “determination and bravery” evinced by Gvili, “an officer in the Yasam [counter-terror] unit who shielded Israeli civilians with his body, sacrificing himself.”

Gvili’s body, which was identified by dental and fingerprint records, was being returned to the Jewish state for burial, officials said.

Israel had repeatedly accused Hamas of dragging its feet in the recovery of the final hostage.

Hamas, for its part, claimed it had provided all the information it had about Gvili’s remains — accusing Israel of obstructing efforts to search for them in areas of Gaza under Israeli military control.

Gvili was among the first of the 251 hostages to be taken into Gaza. Before his remains were recovered, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others had already been returned to Israel.

“There are officially no more hostages in captivity in Gaza,” the IDF declared in a statement on X.

The return of all remaining hostages — living or dead — had been a key part of the US-brokered deal’s initial phase.

But another requirement for the cease-fire phase is for Hamas to be completely disarmed — an unsurprisingly major sticking point for the terrorists.

Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s demand for the group’s full disarmament again Monday. He said the next phase of the ceasefire is “disarming Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.”

“The next phase is not reconstruction,” he stressed at the Knesset. “The next phase is disarming Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” he repeated. Netanyahu said that it is in Israel’s interest “to advance this phase, and not to delay it.”

“It will happen the easy way, or the hard way,” said the premier. “But it will happen.”

The return of Gvili’s body is a milestone in the Gaza ceasefire, whose second phase President Trump initiated last week, setting up organizations that will oversee Gaza’s postwar reconstruction and governance, including the Board of Peace.

Hamas claimed in its statement that it will cooperate with a newly formed Palestinian technocratic committee meant to run Gaza’s daily affairs. The terror group also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire.

“Hamas will continue to adhere to all aspects of the agreement, including facilitating the work of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and ensuring its success. We call on the mediators and the United States to compel the ‘occupation’ to stop violating the agreement and to implement its required obligations.”

Compiled from articles at Times of Israel and NY Post on Jan. 26. Reprinted here for educational purposes only.

Questions

1. Who was Ran Gvili?

2. What was especially heroic about Gvili’s actions on October 7?

3. Consider what you learn about Ran Gvili from the “Background” and videos under “Resources.” What most inspires you about this man?

4. The Trump-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas terrorists went into effect on October 10, 2025. Israeli troops withdrew from parts of Gaza that had been agreed upon. Hamas had committed to releasing all remaining Israeli hostages, living and dead within 72 hours. However, it took 2 months for the terrorists to do so, with the last remaining hostage Ran Gvili only returned when Israeli forces recovered his body this week.
What did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasize must happen as the other part of Phase One before Phase 2 reconstruction in Gaza can begin?

5. On January 22, 2026, in a question-and-answer session following his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump officially signed the charter for his “Board of Peace,” which will oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and serve as an international disputes forum. The “National Committee for the Administration of Gaza” (NCAG) was simultaneously announced as a 12-member technocratic body to manage the territory.
When asked about Hamas following through on their agreement to disarm, President Trump stated, “That’s what they agreed to. They’ve got to do it. And we’re going to know…over the next two or three days – certainly over the next three weeks – whether or not they’re going to do it,” He then added, “If they don’t do it, they’ll be blown away very quickly.
a) How serious do you think the president was in his statement?
b) Ask a parent if they think Hamas will disarm and to explain their answer.

Background

Who was 24 year old Ran Gvili?

In 2021, Gvili joined the Israel Police’s Special Patrol Unit, where he rose to the rank of St.-Sgt.-Maj.
Gvili was killed in battle fighting infiltrating Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, after saving the lives of partygoers fleeing the Nova music festival in Re’im and defending Kibbutz Alumim from Hamas terrorists.
Despite still recovering from a broken shoulder sustained in a motorcycle accident, Gvili didn’t hesitate to put on his uniform and head to the Gaza border communities in southern Israel that morning. Gvili and his comrades initially fought at Kibbutz Alumim before heading to the Sa’ad Junction, where they rescued survivors at the festival.
After evacuating survivors of the Nova massacre to safety, Gvili and his comrades returned to Alumim to continue the fight against the dozens of terrorists who attempted to conquer the kibbutz. Wounded and surrounded, Gvili was overpowered by Hamas terrorists and was subsequently murdered.
His body was abducted by Hamas militants and taken into Gaza, making him one of the 251 hostages taken that day (most civilians, some security personnel). Israeli authorities initially listed him as missing, with his death confirmed months later (January 2024) based on intelligence and evidence that he had not received medical treatment for his severe wounds.
For months, Ran’s parents and sister held out hope that he was alive. However, on January 31, 2024, authorities confirmed that he had been killed on October 7 and that his body had been abducted to Gaza. (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 26, 2026)

Ran’s remains were held in Gaza for over two years (843 days), during which his family campaigned publicly for their return. On January 26, 2026, the IDF recovered, identified (via forensic processes including dental records), and returned his body to Israel, marking the final closure of the October 7 hostage cases and allowing his burial.

Gvili is widely remembered in Israel as a hero who acted selflessly despite being injured — often called the “Defender of Alumim” — and as the symbolic “first to go out, last to return.” (Grok)