Israeli forces say they have recovered the body of the last hostage in the Gaza Strip, paving the way for the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Sergeant Ran Gbili has been sought since the ceasefire with Hamas began last October.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Gbili’s return a “special achievement.”
Israeli forces began searching Gbili’s graveyard on Sunday morning. The Hamas militant group said it had provided mediators with “all details and information” about Gbili’s location.
Netanyahu’s office said Israel would reopen Gaza’s main border with Egypt once the operation to find and repatriate Gbili is completed.
The prime minister welcomed the return of Gbili’s body, saying: “We promised and I promised to bring everyone back. We brought back every last prisoner.”
The Israeli military said last weekend that clarification of existing information had made it possible to search a cemetery near Gaza City. Military officials said the cemetery was located in the “Yellow Line area,” the border of territory still controlled by Israeli forces under a cease-fire agreement.
Hamas said it “kept mediators updated with the information they needed and as a result the bodies were recovered.”
Spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the findings “confirm Hamas’ commitment to all requirements of the ceasefire agreement.”
In Israel, the hostage’s father, Itchik Gbili, said an emotional farewell to his son at the coffin.
“You had the option to stay home, but you said to me, ‘Father, I will not leave my friends to fight alone.’
“You came out, you need to see the honor you have here. Everyone who brought you is here. All the police are here with you, the whole army is here with you, the whole country is here with you. My son, I am proud of you,” Itzik Gvili said.
Rani Gvili’s sister Shira previously told the Hostage and Missing Families Forum: “I feel crazy relieved. I feel relieved. It’s sad. I’m very sad that it ends like this, but it had to end at some point. I’m so glad he’s back home.”
Gbili’s rescue may bring closure to his family and finally end the suffering of Israel’s hostages after 843 days.
It also paves the way for further progress in the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Israel refused to advance until Gvili was discovered.
Phase two will include the reconstruction and complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, including the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups. The plan also targets the deployment of the yet-to-be-formed International Stabilization Force (ISF) and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Gbili’s family gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, as they have every week since he and 250 others were kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023.
“I looked them in the eyes and said, ‘I will bring Rani home,’” Netanyahu said Monday. “Citizens of Israel, we have a promise: we will bring everyone home.”
It’s a promise that has finally been delivered and will be celebrated, but his critics say it took too long and cost too many lives for Israelis and Palestinians.
“According to information and information available to us, Sergeant Ran Gvili, a Yamam commando, aged 24 at the time of his death, fell in combat on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
“The IDF shares in the grief of the bereaved families. The IDF will continue to accompany the families and returned hostages and act to strengthen the security of Israeli citizens.
“With this, all hostages from the Gaza Strip have been repatriated.”
Netanyahu said he had sent soldiers to Gaza to return the hostages and defeat Hamas.
Opening the Rafah border crossing is an important next step, but other difficult challenges must also be faced.
How will Hamas be disarmed and driven out of Gaza? When will Israeli troops withdraw? And who will form the international force that provides security for the future?
This is the first time since 2014 that no Israeli hostages, alive or dead, are being held in Gaza. This is a reminder of how deep the roots of this conflict are and how difficult it still is to achieve lasting peace.
In response to the return of Gvili’s body, Trump posted on Truth Social: “We have just recovered the last hostage body from GAZA. So we have rescued 20 hostages, both alive and dead! This is amazing!”
The president congratulated his “great team of champions,” saying “most people thought it was an impossible task.”
Hamas was supposed to return all hostages, alive and dead, within 72 hours after the ceasefire went into effect. The process took much longer, but eventually the bodies of 20 living Israeli hostages and 27 dead Israeli and foreign hostages were recovered, with only Gbili missing.
The officer was one of 251 hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that left about 1,200 people dead. Most of the hostages were released alive over the next two years in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 Gaza detainees.
The Hamas-run health ministry said 71,660 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip launched in response to the attack.
