Gaza (QNN)- The Israeli army said on Monday it recovered the body of the last Israeli soldier prisoner in the Gaza Strip, Ran Gvili, following search operations in northern Gaza. The announcement came amid statements from the Islamic Jihad resistance movement that Israel had received the location of the body weeks earlier but delayed recovery efforts deliberately.
In a statement, the Israeli army said identification procedures were completed by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, in coordination with Israeli police and the military rabbinate. Army officials then informed Gvili’s family that his body had been returned for burial.
Israeli military sources said Gvili was 24 years old at the time of his death. He served in the Special Patrol Unit (Yasam), monitoring the separation fence surrounding the Gaza Strip. The army said he was killed in combat on the morning of October 7, 2023.
The Israeli army declared that the recovery marks the return of all Israeli soldier prisoners from Gaza. It said this development ends the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which took effect in October under a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC over war crimes in Gaza, described the recovery as an “unprecedented achievement.” He said Israel had fulfilled its promise to bring everyone back. Netanyahu added that the next phase will focus on disarming the Palestinian resistance and turning Gaza into a demilitarized zone, rather than reconstruction.
As Israel announced the recovery, Abu Hamza, spokesperson for Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, issued a statement stating that Israel deliberately delayed the search operations.
Abu Hamza said the group handed mediators the exact coordinates of Ran Gvili’s body three weeks ago, based on new information it had obtained. He said Israeli forces intentionally stalled coordination and search efforts, despite having the location.
On Sunday, the al-Qassam Brigades said they had shared all available information with mediators regarding the location of Gvili’s body. Shortly after, the Israeli army announced it was searching a cemetery in northern Gaza.
According to the Israeli military radio station, Israeli troops found the body in a cemetery in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. The search involved the exhumation of graves and removal of around 250 bodies buried at the site.
Hamas said in a separate statement that the recovery of the last Israeli soldier prisoner’s body confirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement. The group said it continues to meet all obligations, including facilitating the work of Gaza’s National Administration Committee.
Hamas also called on mediators and the United States to pressure Israel to stop ceasefire violations and to implement the remaining terms of the deal.
For months, Israel linked reopening the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to the recovery of Gvili’s body, violating ceasefire terms that put opening the border crossing within the terms of the first phase. Rafah remains Gaza’s main exit point.
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