IDF confirms it is currently searching for body of Ran Gvili in northern Gaza Strip

The IDF confirms it is searching for the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line in the Strip’s north.

The search operation began over the weekend, based on intelligence information that his body was buried at a Muslim cemetery in eastern Gaza City, near the neighborhoods of Shejaiya, Daraj, and Tuffah.

Troops and forensic experts, including dentists, are operating in the area in an attempt to locate and identify Gvili’s remains and bring them back to Israel for burial, according to the army.

The intelligence on Gvili’s body possibly buried at the cemetery had been known to the IDF for a while, though recently the information was made clearer, both following IDF operations and information provided by Hamas to Israel via mediators.

Contrary to Hamas’s claim of providing Israel with the intelligence on the location, the IDF says that the terror group only confirmed information that the military already had.

While the IDF says it is credible that Gvili’s remains are located at the cemetery, there are other potential intelligence leads on where his body could be.

The operation could last several days at most, according to IDF estimates.

In a separate statement confirming the operation, the Prime Minister’s Office says that the search effort in northern Gaza for Gvili’s body will “continue as long as necessary.”