‘All the abductees have been returned’: Israel confirms return of last hostage, Ran Gvili
After 843 days, the remains of the last Israeli missing from Hamas’s October 7 attack have been returned to Israel, the IDF announced on Monday.
Hostae Square in Tel Aviv
“After completing the identification process by the National Centre for Forensic Medicine in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of the abducted Ran Gvili, of blessed memory, that their loved one has been identified and is being buried,” the IDF said.
“With this, all of the abductees have been returned from the Gaza Strip,” the IDF added.
Gvili’s remains were found in a cemetery in Gaza City. According to IDF assessments, Palestinian Islamic Jihad likely buried Gvili with other terrorists, not realising who he was.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24, was killed while defending Kibbutz Alumim and his body taken to Gaza.
A member of Yasam, an elite police unit, Gvili was at the hospital waiting to undergo surgery for a broken shoulder when he learned of Hamas’s attack on southern Israel. He rushed home, put on his uniform and joined other personnel heading to Alumim.
A resident of the Negev town of Meitar, Gvili is credited with rescuing around 100 people who fled the nearby Nova Music Festival, and with killing 14 Hamas terrorists. The last word heard from Gvili was when he texted a friend saying he had been shot in the leg.
The military declared Gvili dead based on intelligence in January 2024.
Gvili, an avid guitarist, motorcyclist, and amateur carpenter, is survived by his parents, a brother and a sister.
Political leaders expressed relief after the Israel Defence Forces confirmed that the remains of Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili had been returned to Israel after 843 days.
“After many difficult years, for the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli citizens held hostage in Gaza. An entire nation prayed and waited for this moment,” said President Isaac Herzog.
Referring to the yellow ribbon-shaped pins worn in solidarity, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Knesset lawmakers, “We all wore the pin, and now that the mission is complete, the time has come to remove it. For ‘the sons have returned to their borders and the daughters have returned to their borders,’ referring to a Biblical verse.
Netanyahu added, “We have completed this mission, as I promised, and we shall likewise complete the rest of the goals we have set.”
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee told The Press Service of Israel, “I think everybody is beside themselves with the extraordinary discovery that the last of the hostages has been returned home. And to the family of Ran Gvili, we extend our condolences and our celebration that after 843 very difficult days, he is home with his family.”
Defence Minister Israel Katz called Gvili “a brave fighter who acted out of a deep sense of mission and national responsibility. His heroism on that difficult morning is part of the story of the resilience and determination of the fighters and security forces in the face of the terrorist attack.”
“The return of the late Ran for burial is a painful moment of closing the circle, with the return of the last abductee from the Gaza Strip to the land of Israel. This is a moment that emphasises the commitment of the State of Israel to its fighters and citizens: to return each and every one of them home, as we promised the families and the public in Israel. This is the mutual guarantee,” he added.
Said Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, “Today, when we learned of the identification and return of Ran, of blessed memory, for burial in Israel, the emotions are mixed and moving. Our hearts are broken over the loss of a Yasam fighter, a hero of Israel who gave his life to save others, and we share in the great sorrow of the dear Gvili family, along with great relief and joy that Ran is no longer in the hands of the enemy — he has returned home and will be buried in Israel.”
In Azerbaijan on a diplomatic trip, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tweeted of Gvili, “The first to go out, the last to return. We will never forget Ran.”
Opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid congratulated the security forces for bringing home Gvili, “who will finally be laid to rest in a fitting burial in Israel.”
The Tikva Forum, which advocates for the hostages and their families, said, “Rani the hero went out on Simchat Torah for the people of Israel and the State of Israel, and now the people of Israel have brought him home. Along with the great pain, this is an emotional day of closing the circle for Itzik and Talik, and for the entire people of Israel. We would like to express our deep gratitude to the security forces and the government of Israel who brought the late Rani home, thus returning the last captive from the Iron Swords War.”
With the return of Gvili’s body, it was cleared for publication that Israeli actor and singer Idan Amedi, best known internationally for starring in the hit TV show Fauda, had participated in the operation to locate the remains.
Gvili’s remains were found in a cemetery in Gaza City. According to IDF assessments, Palestinian Islamic Jihad likely buried Gvili with other terrorists, not realizing who he was.
Israeli military forces search for the remains of Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili in a Gaza City cemetery on Jan. 25, 2026. Photo by TPS-IL
The Shin Bet (Israel’s anti-terror General Security Service) has provided new details as to how Israeli security forces were able to locate and return to Israel the remains of Ran Gvili.
About a month ago, said the Shin Bet, as part of an operation to find hostage remains in southern Gaza City, an Islamic Jihad operative who was involved in terror activity against Israeli forces during the war was taken in for questioning. It was suspected that this terrorist knew details of the location of where the late Ran Gvili had been buried.
During his interrogation, the operative spoke about his involvement in moving the body between several sites and even pointed to additional people involved who were aware of its location. Among other things, his interrogation resulted in acquiring new intelligence information that strengthened the understanding of the body’s location in the Al-Batsh cemetery in Gaza City.
In recent days, an extensive operation began at this cemetery, during which the body of the late Ran was identified and returned to Israel.
The funeral of Ran Gvili will be held on Wednesday in his Negev hometown of Meitar.
Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
