Overview
- Israeli authorities confirmed the remains were recovered in Gaza and forensically identified as 24-year-old police sergeant Ran Gvili, killed on October 7, 2023.
- Gvili’s body had been held in Gaza for 842 days, and the Israel Defense Forces stated that all individuals previously listed as hostages have now been returned.
- The search-and-recovery effort, conducted under Operation Brave Heart, was led by the Alexandroni Brigade with engineering units, the military rabbinate, forensic dentists and specialized teams.
- The IDF said its intelligence for the recovery did not come from Hamas and rejected the group’s claim that it actively searched for and located the burial site.
- Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office had tied a limited reopening of the Rafah crossing to the recovery of Gvili’s remains, a step linked to implementing the ceasefire’s next phase.