Israel says it recovered the remains of Ran Gvili in Gaza. The Israeli police officer was the final hostage held by Hamas.
Gvili was killed fighting Hamas on October 7, 2023, and his body was taken into Gaza. Under the peace agreement between Hamas and Israel in October, the Palestinian group agreed to release the living captives and the remains of the deceased.
Hamas immediately released the living hostages, and has returned the remains over the past three months. The Palestinian group said the recovery process was difficult due to the massive destruction in Gaza caused by the Israeli onslaught.
While the first 27 bodies were handed over to Hamas by Israel, Israeli forces recovered the remains of Gvili. Israel recovered the body from a cemetery in Gaza. The IDF exhumed over 250 bodies before locating Gvili.
The remains were recovered on Israel’s side of the yellow line, meaning Hamas would not have access to the cemetery. Hamas said on Monday that it “exerted significant efforts in the search for the body of the last prisoner” and that it had provided Israel with “all the details and information in our possession regarding the location of the prisoner’s remains.”
President Donald Trump confirmed that Hamas aided Israel in recovering Gvili’s remains.
With the recovery of the final hostage, Hamas has met its obligations under the first phase of the peace deal that Trump brokered. Israel continues to violate the pact.
On Monday, three Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks. Additionally, Tel Aviv is refusing to reopen the Rafah crossing. Under the peace deal, Israel agreed to open Gaza’s border crossing to Egypt.
Tel Aviv is now only permitting a partial reopening of the Rafah crossing that will require more Palestinians to exit Gaza than enter.
