Israel says body of last Gaza hostage Ran Gweli found

The Israeli military says it has recovered the body of its last hostage in Gaza, paving the way for the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

It has been searching for Sergeant Ran Gweli since a ceasefire with Hamas in October.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Gweli’s return “an extraordinary achievement.”

On Sunday morning, the Israeli military began searching Gweli’s grave. Hamas militant group said it had provided mediators with “all details and information” about Gweli’s location.

Netanyahu’s office said Israel to reopen Gaza’s main crossing with Egypt After the operation to find and return to Gvili was completed.

Netanyahu welcomed the return of Gweli’s body, saying: “We promised – and I promised – to bring everyone back. We brought them all back, including the last prisoner,” he said.

The Israeli military said clarification of existing intelligence over the weekend allowed the search of cemeteries near Gaza City. A military official said the cemetery “is located in the Yellow Line area,” which remains under Israeli military control under the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas said it “constantly communicated necessary information to the mediators and ultimately succeeded in recovering the body.”

Spokesman Hazem Qasim said the discovery “confirms Hamas’s commitment to all the demands of the ceasefire agreement.”

Gweli’s rescue could bring closure to his family and ultimately end 843 days of hostage suffering in Israel.

This also opens the way for further progress in the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israel refused to move forward until Gweli was discovered.

The second phase is intended to involve the reconstruction and full demilitarization of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups. The plan also implies the deployment of a yet-to-be-formed International Stabilization Force (ISF) and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

On Friday, the Gweli family gathered in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, as they have done every week since he and 250 others were kidnapped on October 7, 2023.

“I looked them in the eye and said: ‘We will bring Rani home,'” Netanyahu recalled Monday. “I promise you, citizens of Israel: We will bring everyone home.”

It was a promise that was finally fulfilled and would be celebrated, but his critics said it took too long and cost too many Israeli and Palestinian lives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Gweli’s return in a statement, saying: “According to the information and intelligence we have, Sergeant Ran Gweli, a Yamam commando fighter who was 24 years old at the time of his death, fell in combat on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was abducted to the Gaza Strip.

“The IDF is grieving for this family. The IDF will continue to accompany the families and the returning hostages and take actions to enhance the security of Israeli citizens.

“At this point, all hostages from the Gaza Strip have been repatriated.”

Netanyahu said he was sending soldiers into Gaza to free hostages and defeat Hamas.

Opening the Rafah crossing is an important next step, but other difficult issues must be faced.

How will Hamas be disarmed and removed from the fabric of Gaza? When will the Israeli army withdraw? Who will constitute the international force that will provide security for the future?

For the first time since 2014, no Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza, alive or dead, and a reminder of the root causes of the conflict and how difficult it remains to shape a lasting peace.

Regarding the return of Gweli’s body, Trump posted on the truth social networking site: “The last hostage body has just been found in Gaza. So, all 20 hostages and all the dead have been recovered! Awesome!”

The president said “most people thought this was something that was impossible” and congratulated his “great team of champions.”

Hamas plans to return all hostages, living or dead, within 72 hours of the ceasefire taking effect. The process took longer, but eventually the bodies of 20 living Israeli hostages and 27 dead Israeli and foreign hostages were handed over, leaving only Gweli missing.

The policeman was one of 251 hostages taken during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people. Most of the hostages were rescued alive over the next two years in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israel’s military operation in Gaza in response to the attack has killed 71,660 Palestinians, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said.