Israel
Hamas and Red Cross restart search for final hostage Ran Gvili
The terror group was meant to return Ran’s remains three months ago, but claims they are buried under rubble in Gaza
January 8, 2026 10:12
The terror group was meant to return Ran’s remains three months ago, but claims they are buried under rubble in Gaza
January 8, 2026 10:12Hamas and the Red Cross have confirmed that they have restarted their search for the remains of the final Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili.
Ran, a master sergeant in the police's Yam counter-terror unit, was killed fighting terrorists who had invaded Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023.
He was due to undergo surgery for a broken shoulder that morning, but chose to join his police comrades on the front lines when he heard of the terrorist incursion.
His remains were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but both that group and its Hamas allies claim they lost his body during the war.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire agreed on October 10 last year, he should have been released within 72 hours of the truce taking effect.
But his captors have insisted they have been unable to locate his body under the rubble in Gaza.
The renewed search is the first in nearly a month and came amid violent clashes between Hamas and Palestinian militia groups in the Strip.
On Monday, his parents met Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, David Yosef, to call for his release.
"I have the honour of greeting the parents of Ran Gvili, the last hostage who, sadly, is still being held in captivity," said Yosef.
"I explained to the parents that according to Jewish law, even if it is certain that he has fallen, there is a great Torah commandment to do everything possible to bring him to a Jewish burial.
"We are all praying, and I call upon each and every one of the people of Israel that, with God’s help, very soon - very soon - he will return to us, and that his parents will know fulfilment from all their descendants. Amen, may it be God’s will."
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