The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed the identification and recovery of Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili's remains, marking the return of the last hostage held in Gaza.

"Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of the deceased hostage Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili had been found. 

On January 25-26, IDF forces recovered Gvili's remains from a cemetery in northern Gaza City (Shejaiya–Daraj Tuffah area) during a large-scale operation involving hundreds of troops, engineers, and forensics experts who examined around 250 bodies.

This marked the return of the final hostage held in Gaza after 843 days, allowing for burial in Israel and closing a key chapter in hostage-recovery efforts.

Gvili, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces and was 24 at the time of his death, fell in combat on October 7, 2023, with his body subsequently abducted to Gaza.

From Meitar in southern Israel, Gvili served in the IDF's Golani Brigade before joining the police's Special Patrol Unit (YASAM), rising to Staff Sergeant Major, cominghomesoon previously wrote.

The timing of the recovery carries significant diplomatic weight. The Israeli government had explicitly opposed advancing to the peace deal's second phase until Gvili's remains were recovered, with his return previously being established as a non-negotiable precondition for further implementation of the agreement.

"An extraordinary achievement by the State of Israel. I promised to return everyone, and we returned everyone," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters.

Search operations commenced over the past weekend, following at least a month-long postponement ordered by Netanyahu, Kan News reported, due to the sensitivity of negotiations with the United States and regional mediators.

Authorisation was granted only after Gaza's technocratic government was established and the Peace Council was launched.