Israeli Military Says Remains of Last Hostage Found in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Jan. 26 it had identified the remains of the last Israeli hostage held in the Gaza Strip, marking the end of the recovery process for all captives taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, working with Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, had completed the identification process for the remains belonging to Israeli police officer Ran Gvili.

“There are officially no more hostages in captivity in Gaza,” the IDF said in a Jan. 26 post on X.

The military said Gvili, 24, served in the Israeli Police Special Forces. Based on intelligence and operational assessments, the IDF said he was killed in combat on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, and that his body was taken into the Gaza Strip.

“The deceased hostage SFC Ran Gvili has been identified and will be returned for burial,” the IDF said in a separate post, noting that it had informed his family and expressed condolences.

The announcement follows an earlier statement by the IDF on Jan. 25 that it had begun a targeted operation near the so-called Yellow Line in the northern Gaza Strip to retrieve Gvili’s body.

Peace Plan

With the return of Gvili’s remains to Israel, the first phase of the U.S.-brokered October cease-fire is expected to formally conclude. That phase included the recovery and return of all Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terrorist group.

The second phase includes the demilitarization of Hamas and the establishment of a technocratic governance model in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Jan. 21 accepted U.S. President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace, met with U.S. officials on Jan. 25 to discuss the next steps in Trump’s Gaza plan.

The talks included U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum.

The discussions also focused on broader regional issues, according to Witkoff, who described the talks as constructive and aligned on next steps.

Rafah Crossing Reopening

Netanyahu’s office said on Jan. 26 that Israel would reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt once the last remaining Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip was located.

The decision was part of understandings reached with the United States under the Gaza peace plan, Netanyahu’s office said. The plan includes a limited reopening of the crossing for pedestrian traffic only, subject to full Israeli inspection.

Plans for Rafah’s reopening were announced last week.

Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority deputy minister and the leader of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, part of Trump’s Board of Peace, said the crossing would open this week in both directions.

The crossing, located between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, has been closed since May 7, 2024.

Shaath said reopening the crossing would signal that the region was “no longer closed to the future and to the war.”

Trump Warns Hamas Over Disarmament

Trump laid out the broader framework for the Gaza Strip’s future during a Jan. 22 speech at the World Economic Forum, warning that Hamas must fully disarm or face destruction.

“The war in Gaza is coming to an end,” Trump said. “We have little fires that we’ll put out, but they’re little.”

Trump said Hamas had agreed to demilitarize under the plan and warned that there would be no alternative if it were to fail to comply.

“They have to give up their weapons, and if they don’t do that, it’s going to be the end of them,” he said.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said on Jan. 26 that the discovery of the last Israeli captive’s body confirmed the group’s commitment to the cease-fire agreement.

In a statement released via Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV Telegram channel, Qassem said the development showed adherence to the agreement’s provisions, including the exchange process.

“Hamas will continue to adhere to all aspects of the agreement, including facilitating the work of the National Committee to administer Gaza and ensuring its success,” he said.

Qassem also called on mediators and Washington to pressure Israel to comply with the deal.