The Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that it has recovered and identified the body of Master Sergeant Ran Gvili Hy”d, the last remaining Israeli hostage held in Gaza. For the first time since the Simchas Torah massacre of October 7, 2023 attacks, no captives, living or deceased, remain in the Strip.

The breakthrough came after weeks of clandestine intelligence activity, during which security forces arrested Hamas operatives and brought them to Israel for interrogation. Those interrogations yielded fragments of information that helped narrow the search area.

For months, the IDF had tracked multiple possible burial locations. These included tunnel sites roughly a kilometer from cemeteries, where the elite Yahalom Unit spent significant time drilling and conducting scans, as well as locations near the Shifa Hospital complex and other areas beyond what is referred to as the “yellow line.” According to Israeli security assessments, Gvili was likely buried during the first weeks of the fighting, possibly by Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives who may not have realized in real time that he was an Israeli fighter.

While Hamas and Qatari mediators involved in hostage discussions were consulted about the intelligence, military sources emphasized that the crucial information did not come directly from Hamas. IDF officials suggested that Hamas may have provided misleading or incomplete details in recent weeks, complicating efforts to reach a definitive location.

Recent intelligence ultimately pointed to a cemetery in the Sajaiya and Daraj Tuffah area of northern Gaza, near the Israeli side of the yellow line. A ground operation to locate Gvili’s body had been planned well in advance, but it was postponed several times due to constraints at the political level.

When it finally launched over the weekend, the mission became a race against time, unfolding against the sensitive backdrop of potential arrangements to reopen the Rafah Crossing. The 48-hour operation, code-named “Brave Heart,” focused methodically on the targeted cemetery.

The site was divided into small grid sections. Each engineering team, accompanied by forensic dentists and Military Rabbinate personnel to address halachic considerations, was assigned to a separate area. Working in parallel, the teams moved rapidly to expedite the process, examining over 250 graves within hours.

At 1:30 PM Israel time on Monday, 8 Shevat, Gvili’s body was positively identified through a cross-check process. The Israeli Police Commissioner personally informed the Gvili family, telling them that Ran’s body was “found intact, in his uniform. You receive the child as he left.”

In an emotional moment , IDF soldiers at the excavation site joined together upon confirming the identification and sang a heartfelt rendition of “Ani Maamin,” the song expressing hope and yearning even in the darkest moments, with its belief in the imminent arrival of Moshiach.

IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir spoke with the Gvili family following the recovery. “We kept the promise not to leave anyone behind. IDF soldiers, the fighters on the front, and the entire nation are emotional about Ran’s return to the Land of Israel,” he said.

Ran Gvili, 24, from the town of Meitar, served as a combat fighter in the Negev Battalion (Yasam Negev) of the Israel Police’s Southern District. On the morning of October 7, he was at home recovering from a broken shoulder sustained in a motorcycle accident.

Despite the injury, when reports of the Hamas invasion reached him, Gvili put on his uniform and rushed to help his comrades. At the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim, he fought fiercely against Hamas terrorists, holding his position until his ammunition ran out. He was killed in battle, and his body was subsequently taken into Gaza by the terrorists.

He became known in the kibbutz as “Ran, the Shield of Alumim” for the stand he made that morning. Those who knew him described him as values-driven, beloved, with a powerful yet calm presence.

When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the news to the Knesset Monday afternoon, the prime minister, visibly emotional, donned his yarmulke and recited the bracha of Shehecheyanu, thanking Hashem for sustaining us and bringing us to this moment.

The entire Knesset rose in a standing ovation.

“My friends, members of the Knesset, just an hour ago we returned Rani Gvili, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Netanyahu declared. “I bless the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and the Shin Bet for the perfect execution of this sacred mission.”

He called it “an extraordinary achievement for the State of Israel,” and said, “I promised to bring everyone back, and we brought everyone back, every last one.”

The prime minister expressed gratitude to Gal Hirsch for his tireless dedication to the mission, to government officials who provided support throughout, and to the people of Israel for their prayers and encouragement. He also thanked President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and their team for their support.

“We have completed this mission, as I promised, and we will complete the other missions we have set,” he said.

After arriving at the site where his son’s body was found and speaking with the doctors responsible for the identification, Itzik Gvili, Ran’s father, told reporters: “We closed the circle. He finally came home, unbelievable. They found him intact, dressed in his uniform. It’s an amazing thing. Our pride is greater than the sadness. The funeral is currently planned for next Wednesday. We still can’t process that they found Rani.”

Standing over his son’s coffin, Ran’s father said: “You had every opportunity to stay home, but you told me, ‘Aba, I won’t leave my friends alone.’ The whole nation is with you. I am proud of you, my son.”

Ran’s mother, Talik, posted on social media: “The first one to go, the last one to return, our hero.” She later said the news brought “a relief, after these two and a half years, even though we hoped for a different ending.”

Throughout the war, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, representing a majority of the hostage families, promoted wearing a yellow ribbon pin featuring a reminder emoji and the words “Bring Them Home.” The symbol was adopted by Israeli politicians and Jews worldwide as a reminder of those still held in Gaza. On Monday, for the first time since October 7, forum members removed their pins. “We all wore the pin, and now that the mission is complete, it is time to remove it,” Netanyahu said.

The Trump administration played a significant role in the mission’s completion. President Donald Trump posted on social media: “Just recovered the last Hostage body in GAZA. Thus, got back ALL 20 of the living Hostages, and ALL of the Dead! AMAZING JOB! Most thought of it as an impossible thing to do. Congratulations to my great team of Champions!!! President DJT”

Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the newly appointed Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, posted:
Thanks to President Trump and the efforts of Secretary Rubio, SE Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza, has returned home. That his body returns home on the eve of the liberation of Auschwitz reminds us that the words “Never Again” must also come with action. As Ran is laid to rest, we mourn those killed by Hamas terrorists and reaffirm that good will triumph over evil. President Trump keeps his promises.

According to sources at the White House speaking to Yinon Magal from Israel’s Channel 14: “You have no idea how many people cried here today at the White House. We worked on this project relentlessly! As if they were Americans. We could have given up weeks ago, but we didn’t.”

The military emphasized in its statement that “throughout the entire war, IDF troops operated day and night, on the front lines and deep in enemy territory, while greatly endangering their lives, with unwavering determination and a deep commitment to the sanctity of life, in order to establish the conditions that would allow the return of all the hostages, the living and the deceased as one.”

The effort, it said, “represents the promise between the IDF and the citizens of the State of Israel, to never leave anyone behind.” With Gvili’s return, “the return of all of the living and deceased hostages from the Gaza Strip to the State of Israel has been completed.”

Looking ahead in light of President Trump’s peace framework, Netanyahu outlined Israel’s next objectives: “The next stage is the disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza. Not rehabilitation. We have an interest in advancing this stage and not delaying it.”

Ran Gvili’s Levaya is scheduled for Wednesday. He is survived by his parents Talik and Itzik, his brother Amri, his sister Shira, and extended family.

After 843 days, he will be laid to rest, bringing closure to a family that never stopped hoping and a nation that never stopped searching.

For the first time since October 7, 2023, and the first time since 2014, there are no hostages, living or deceased, remaining in Gaza.

His family davening at the Ohel two years ago (credit: Yudi Eber)