Remains of last captive in Gaza found by Israel’s military
Israel’s army says it has recovered the last captive held in Gaza after an operation to find his body.
“Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, [military] representatives informed the family of the late Ran Gvili that his body has been returned for burial,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee said.
“Thus, all the hostages held in the Gaza Strip have been repatriated,” he added.
Retrieval of the final captive to be source of optimism for Palestinians
This is an important moment for Palestinians. All the Israeli captives are returned now.
There should be a lot changing on the ground – the Rafah crossing to open, the reconstruction material to enter the Gaza Strip and also the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the yellow line to allow Palestinians to go and be able to see their houses and see everything beyond that line.
There have been a lot of promises from the first phase of the ceasefire, of course, which have not been fulfilled, including the agreement to allow 600 [aid] trucks per day to enter Gaza, whereas approximately 230 trucks have entered daily.
Again and again, Israel has justified these delays by saying it had not retrieved all the Israeli captives, but now there is no justification for that.
Netanyahu praises ‘great achievement’ after last captive found
Israel’s prime minister has praised the military for retrieving the remains of the last captive held in Gaza.
“As I informed the Ran Gvili family, I am pleased to report that our forces have located his body and it is now on its way home,” Netanyahu said.
“As I promised you before, we have brought back all the hostages. This is an extraordinary achievement for the State of Israel … and the citizens of Israel because you provided us with your full support to complete the mission.”
Gvili, 24, was a police officer “killed in action” on October 7, 2023.
Israeli society begins rehabilitation with return of final captive’s remains, deputy PM says
Israel’s deputy prime minister, Sharren Haskel, says the retrieval of Gvili’s remains is the “first and necessary step at the beginning of the rehabilitation process for Israeli society”.
Haskel said the return of Gvili’s body to Israel is “an essential closing of the circle for his family”.
