From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Hamas, Red Cross said to resume search for last hostage’s remains in Gaza City
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The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, has resumed searches with the Red Cross for the body of Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage, in Gaza City’s eastern Zeitoun neighborhood, Palestinian media outlets report.
Footage from the scene shows armed Hamas operatives, Red Cross vehicles and bulldozers.
????_ كتائب القسام، برفقة فرق الصليب الأحمر، تستأنف عمليات البحث عن جثة آخر أسير إسرائيلي في حي الزيتون بقطاع غزة، وذلك ضمن إطار اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار وتبادل الأسرى. pic.twitter.com/X5yOC6SxPJ
— عربي بوست (@arabic_post) January 7, 2026
The search does not appear to include the al-Quds Brigades, Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, who captured Gvili’s body after he was killed defending Kibbutz Alumim during the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
PIJ sources have been cited in Arabic media saying the body was handed over to Hamas during the war and held in eastern Gaza City.
Israel has publicly refused to move on to the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire before Gvili’s body is returned.
The Times of Israel Community.