Israel has recovered the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, marking the first time in over a decade that no Israeli hostages remain in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Monday that Gvili’s body was located and identified at a cemetery in eastern Gaza City, 843 days after he was killed and abducted during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
“Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of the hostage Ran Gvili, of blessed memory, that their loved one has been identified and will be laid to rest,” the IDF said in a statement.
Gvili, a 24-year-old Israel Police Special Patrol Unit volunteer, was killed while confronting Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Alumim. Despite having broken his shoulder just 10 days before the attack, Gvili insisted on joining the fight.
“Rani told us he would not let his friends fight alone, and that even with the fracture he could still hold a handgun,” his father Itzik Gvili recalled in a previous interview. “I will never forget the look in his eyes. It was as if he was saying, ‘This is what I have waited for my entire life.'”
During the battle, Gvili rescued approximately 100 people who had fled the Nova music festival and killed 14 Hamas terrorists before being shot in the arm and leg. He continued to radio information about enemy forces until he died from his wounds, after which Hamas seized his body.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed the nation’s relief at this closure: “Thank you to all those involved in the operation to bring Ran home. This was an operation of immeasurable importance in fulfilling the sacred obligation to redeem captives,” Herzog said. “After many difficult years, for the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli citizens held hostage in Gaza.”
The recovery operation, dubbed “Operation Brave Heart,” focused on a cemetery in northern Gaza and included extensive scanning while utilizing all available intelligence.
Gvili’s return fulfilled a key condition for Israel’s agreement to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing under Trump’s 20-point peace plan. The White House Press Secretary announced that 20 additional countries have joined the “Board of Peace” initiative aimed at overseeing Gaza’s management.
Impromptu gatherings formed across Israel Monday night as citizens marked this significant moment. In Kfar Saba, activists symbolically removed shirts, necklaces, and pins calling for the hostages’ return, while in Tel Aviv, people flocked to Hostages Square throughout the evening.
Surrounded by family at a press conference, Gvili’s mother Talik expressed both grief and pride: “Our pride is much, much stronger than our pain. The people of Israel lives and is strong.”
His father added, “He saved us, saved the people of Israel, saved Kibbutz Alumim, he saved everyone. Rani always loved bringing people together, and he’s united the country.”
With Gvili’s return, all 251 Israelis and foreign nationals abducted on October 7 have now been accounted for – 168 were freed alive, with the remainder either returned through truce deals or recovered in IDF operations.
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