JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said on Monday that the remains of the last prisoner held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, had been identified and were being repatriated to Israel.

The announcement put an end to a lengthy process to locate and return the last of the 251 prisoners taken by Hamas during their October 2023 attack on Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the return of all those held prisoner “down to the very last”.

The latest set of prisoner handovers were part of the first phase of the US-backed ceasefire deal, which began on October 10 and aimed to stop the fighting in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas says return reflects the group’s commitment to ceasefire agreement

Gvili’s family had expressed strong opposition to launching the second phase of the plan before they had received his remains.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its representatives “informed the family of Ran Gvili… that their loved one has been identified and will be returned for burial”.

It added that all prisoners have been returned from the Gaza Strip to the State of Israel.

The gradual return of the prisoners over several stages had been a complicated and arduous process for both sides.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement that “the discovery of the body of the last Israeli prisoner in Gaza confirms Hamas’s commitment to all the requirements of the ceasefire agreement on the Gaza Strip”.

Officials said on Sunday that Israeli forces were searching for Gvili’s remains in a cemetery in northern Gaza.

The announcement of the search came after visiting US envoys reportedly pushed Israeli officials to reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing, a vital entry point for aid.

Israeli officials said on Monday that though they would open the crossing, only pedestrians would be allowed to travel through the crossing to Egypt.

Reopening Rafah, a vital entry point for aid into Gaza, forms part of the US-brokered truce.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026