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Israel recovered Monday the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza, police officer Rani Gvili, marking an end to a dark and painful chapter for Israelis that began when Hamas and allied [terrorists] attacked the country on Oct. 7, 2023.
The return of Gvili's body could open the way for the next phase of the U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement, which could entail initial reconstruction of Gaza, the disarming of Hamas and a further Israeli pullback in the enclave.
Gvili, 24, was killed after he rushed to the border area to help victims of the Hamas attacks, according to an account his sister gave to the forum representing hostage families. He was on sick leave at the time for a dislocated shoulder and, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, died while fighting Palestinian [terrorists] in Kibbutz Alumim. The gunmen then took his body back to Gaza. That day, Hamas and allied [terrorists] killed about 1,200 people and abducted about 250 others.
The recovery of his body brought huge relief to Israel, which has long waited for the final return of the hostages.
"Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza, has been brought home. First to enter. Last to return," the Hostages and Families Forum said in a statement Monday. "Ran, with his broad shoulders and radiant smile, was all heart. A true friend, loved by everyone," it read.
In Gaza, the news was met with cautious optimism, with war-weary civilians hoping it might help end lethal Israeli fire that has persisted despite the ceasefire deal. The recovery of the body could also clear the way for the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to reopen, allowing Palestinians who fled the war to be able to reunite with their families.
Israeli authorities have kept Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt closed and have maintained some restrictions on aid entering the territory. Netanyahu's office announced Sunday that Rafah would reopen as soon as the search for Gvili's body had concluded. "Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism," Netanyahu's office said.
Somaiya Shamali, 57, said she has been desperately waiting for the border to reopen. She has been separated from her son since he departed the Gaza Strip one day before Israeli forces took control of the crossing in May 2024. But despite announcements that Rafah will reopen, she said Gazans have not heard how to apply to leave the territory.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing could also enhance the provision of food and other necessities to Gazans. Aid organizations have been able to scale up their response in Gaza since the ceasefire, but much of the Palestinian population is still unable to get sufficient food, in large part due to Israeli restrictions on access, the groups say.
"There are no more excuses now," José Andrés, of World Central Kitchen, told The Washington Post in an interview. "Now reconstruction has to be happening. Phase 2 has to be happening."
Amid pressure from mediators to move ahead with the second phase of the ceasefire deal, the Israeli military had been carrying out a "focused" last-ditch operation in northern Gaza over the weekend in a bid to find Gvili's remains. The Israel Defense Forces said intelligence led it to a cemetery east of Gaza City and that a search team including, in part, 20 dental experts participated.
"An entire nation prayed and waited for this moment, and now the circle is closed," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. "May his memory be a blessing."
The recent return of the remaining hostages, including 20 living captives and the bodies of 28 others, was facilitated by the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect in October. The deal, which halted most military hostilities in Gaza, envisions a multistage pathway to peace - including the formation of an international stabilization force, the demobilization of Hamas and the eventual reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave.
Israel responded to the Oct. 7 attacks with a punishing military campaign in Gaza and destroyed much of the territory. The figures provided by Gaza health officials do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Netanyahu had repeatedly said that one of the war's main objectives was the safe return of the hostages. The majority of those who were abducted were released alive during three separate ceasefire agreements over the course of the war - including 105 who were freed in November 2023 and 30 who were released in early 2025.
Over the past two months, as Hamas fighters worked with mediators to recover the remains, which the group said were buried under rubble or different locations across Gaza, Israel accused the [terrorists] of purposely withholding the bodies and refused to fully implement some of its obligations under the agreement.
The pressure on Israel and Hamas to move to the next phase of the ceasefire agreement escalated over the past two weeks, when the Trump administration announced the deal would move ahead even before the body of the last hostage had been found. Gvili's family and members of the Israeli cabinet had been urging Israel to not enter the second stage until his remains had been returned.
That pressure appeared to grow further last week when Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority official appointed by mediators to oversee Gaza's administration, announced during the launch of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace in Davos, Switzerland, that the Rafah crossing would reopen this week.
In a statement Monday, Hamas welcomed the retrieval of Gvili's body and said the group "will continue to honor all aspects" of the deal.
A U.S. official said that "Hamas were cooperative as they fulfilled the obligation that they signed up for" and praised Egypt, Qatar and Turkey for helping to achieve the return of Gvili's remains.
The official said that the next step in the plan was the disarmament of Hamas and that Trump was "fully aligned" with Netanyahu's statement "that rebuilding will not occur" until that happens. "That's the agreement that was made and nobody in the administration, Israel or quite frankly in the Arab world" wants to see rebuilding in Gaza until disarmament is completed.
"The ball is in the court of Hamas," said the official, one of two who briefed reporters in Washington on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House.
Hamas has in theory agreed to relinquish power, but its leadership remains in discussions with other political factions on how to shape postwar administration in Gaza, and the group has said it would only hand over its weapons to a governing body made up of Palestinians.
Mohamed Ibrahim al-Dweiry, a former senior Egyptian intelligence official, said that carrying out the ceasefire deal sponsored by Trump is very complicated. "It took three months just to enter the second phase. The main problems will come soon," he said. Operations at the Rafah crossing continue to be a major sticking point, he said, blaming Netanyahu.
Reports in Israeli media this week suggested that the Israeli government wants to see up to three times as many Palestinians leave Gaza as enter it. Dweiry called this an unacceptable effort to empty Gaza of its population. "This is for us a red line, and we informed our friends in Washington about this issue," he said.
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