Gaza: The Israeli army announced that it has successfully located and recovered the body of its last captive in the Gaza Strip. A military statement confirmed that the body of Sgt. 1st Class Ran Gvili has been identified and will be returned for burial. "With this, all hostages have been returned from the Gaza Strip," the statement added.

According to Anadolu Agency, the announcement follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration that Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt following the return of Gvili's body. In response, the Palestinian group Hamas stated that "the resistance, acting out of its national responsibility and commitment to what was agreed upon, exerted great efforts in the file of searching for the body of the last captive and provided mediators with the necessary information on an ongoing basis, which contributed to the recovery of the body."

Hamas emphasized that this step is part of its commitment to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, fulfilling its obligations responsibly. The movement urged Israel to adhere to the ceasefire agreement's full implementation, including reopening the Rafah border without restrictions and allowing the entry of necessary supplies into Gaza.

In recent months, Israel's reopening of the Rafah border crossing has been contingent upon the recovery of Gvili's body. Israel, which has controlled the crossing since May 2024, has tightened its siege on Palestinians in Gaza. Before this, Palestinian factions had returned 20 living Israeli captives and the remains of 27 others to Israel since the ceasefire's commencement on October 10, 2025.

Palestinians have accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, which ended a two-year war that resulted in the deaths of over 71,000 people, primarily women and children, and left nearly 171,400 injured since October 2023. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, at least 484 people have been killed and 1,321 injured since the truce began.