The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had recovered the remains of the last hostage to die in the Gaza Strip, marking the first time since 2014 that there were no Israeli hostages in the enclave.
Ran Gviri, an Israeli police officer who was killed and abducted to Gaza on October 7, 2023, was the last hostage abducted that day and whose body was still in Gaza. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class, the Israeli government said.
“The whole nation prayed and waited for this moment, and now the circle is closed,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said.
“Following an identification process conducted by the National Forensic Center in cooperation with the Israeli Police and Military Rabbinate, authorities have notified his family that his body has been identified and will be buried,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Israel conditioned the recovery and return of all living and dead hostages, the opening of the Rafah border and progress on the second phase of its Gaza peace plan.
Following the news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Gviri’s return was an “outstanding achievement by the State of Israel.”
“We promised to bring everyone home, and we brought everyone back, down to the last one. Mr. Rani is a hero. He was the first in, the last to leave, and he is now on his way home,” Netanyahu told reporters in parliament.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, which organized rallies in Tel Aviv and across Israel to call for the release of the hostages, described Gviri as a “true friend, loved by all.”
“Mr. Lan took great pride in being a police officer and wearing the blue uniform,” the forum said in a statement.
“Ran passed away at the age of 24, leaving behind his parents Tariq and Itzik, his brother Omri, his sister Sheila, and his extended family.”
As part of the ceasefire agreement reached in October, Hamas agreed to release the remaining 251 abducted hostages, both living and dead, on October 7, 2023.
The last 20 living hostages were released in mid-October.
Hamas said Ghuviri’s return demonstrated the group’s “full commitment” to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. In return, Israel “must fully complete the implementation of all provisions of the ceasefire agreement, without any reductions or delays,” Hamas said.
On Sunday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced in a statement that the Rafah crossing would be opened to traffic after the search for Gviri’s body was completed. However, the statement said the opening is for pedestrian use only and not for goods or humanitarian aid. The statement said the crossing was “subject to Israel’s full inspection mechanism.”
It is unclear when the intersection will open.
Israeli officials told CNN that the Rafah crossing will be operated by European Union officials and Palestinian troops under the supervision of Israel’s Shin Bet security forces. “It is clear that not everyone who wishes to enter the country will be allowed to enter the country,” the official said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday that Israel is “now at the threshold of the next step: dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. The next step will not be reconstruction.”
Demilitarizing Hamas, one of the most vexing issues facing the second phase, will happen “both the easy way and the hard way,” Netanyahu said.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Abia Salman contributed reporting.
