The Israeli army says it has recovered the body of the last remaining hostage in Gaza.
There had been a search for Chief Sergeant Ran Gvili since the ceasefire with Hamas began in October.
Hamas was scheduled to return all hostages, living and dead, within 72 hours of the ceasefire taking effect. Twenty living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 27 dead Israeli and foreign hostages were transferred, but Hamas said in recent weeks that it had not yet been able to locate Gvili.
On Sunday, Israel said it would reopen Gaza’s main border crossing with Egypt once the operation to find and return Gvili was complete.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Gvili’s return “an extraordinary achievement”.
‘We promised – and I did – to bring everyone back. We brought them all back, down to the very last prisoner,” he said.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the discovery of the body “confirms Hamas’ commitment to all requirements of the ceasefire.”
The recovery of Gvili paves the way for Israel and Hamas to move on to the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Phase two is intended to include the reconstruction and complete demilitarization of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
Israel had resisted progress until Gvili was found.
In a statement, the Israeli military said: “According to the information and intelligence available to us, Sergeant Major (res) Ran Gvili… a Yamam commando fighter, 24 years old at the time of his death, fell in battle on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was abducted to the Gaza Strip.
“The IDF shares in the family’s grief. The IDF will continue to guide the families and returning hostages and act to strengthen the security of Israeli citizens.
“This means that all hostages from the Gaza Strip area have been returned.”
The Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 took around 251 hostages, killing around 1,200 people. Most of the hostages were released alive over the next two years in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 Gaza detainees.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to the attack, has killed 71,660 Palestinians, the Hamas-led Health Ministry said.
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