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Monday, January 26, 2026
IDF: Body of final hostage Ran Gvili has been located in Gaza, will be returned to Israel for burial
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Following searches at a cemetery in eastern Gaza City, the IDF says the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili has been located and identified.
Gvili’s family was updated by military representatives that his body is being brought back to Israel for burial.
Gvili was the final hostage yet to be returned since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion and massacre in southern Israel, in which 251 hostages were abducted.
This means that no hostages will remain held in the Strip for the first time since 2014.
Gvili, a 24-year-old policeman, was killed defending Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel during the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Related: Interview — Final hostage Ran Gvili’s mother says she trusts Israel to bring her son home
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