In Cairo talks, Israel presses to recover last hostage’s body from Gaza
An Israeli delegation led by Coordinator for Hostages and Missing Persons Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch met with senior Egyptian officials and international mediators on Wednesday to discuss efforts to recover the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Relatives, friends and supporters of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, whose body is held by Hamas, attend a Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony and the lighting of Hanukkah candles at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, calling for the return of his body from Hamas captivity, on Dec. 19, 2025. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the mission, which included representatives from the Israeli military, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Mossad intelligence agency.
The talks focused on operational details for recovering Gvili’s remains.
According to Israeli authorities, Gvili, 24, died of wounds suffered battling terrorists at the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim during the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The 20 remaining living hostages were freed on Oct. 13, and the bodies of deceased hostages have been sporadically been returned since that date. Gvili has yet to come home.
Phase one of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan called for the return of all remaining hostages, living and dead, on Oct. 13.
JNS
