The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has confirmed it has retrieved the remains the last hostage held in Gaza.
Soldiers from the IDF have now retrieved the remains of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili as they launched a “targeted operation” on the much destroyed enclave.
The return of all living and deceased hostages in Gaza completes a key condition of the initial part of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
Israel has said that it will rnow eopen Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt once Mr Gvili’s remains are returned or the search operation for his body concludes.
The Rafah crossing acts as the enclave’s main gateway to the world and is the key route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the two million people who live there.
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.
It was briefly opened early in 2025 for the evacuation of sick and wounded Palestinians for treatment, as part of the previous ceasefire deal.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said: “As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism.”
The IDF has retrieved the remains of Israeli police officer Ran Gvili
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GETTY
Palestinians walk surrounded by the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the war, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip
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REUTERS
