IDF launches operation to locate remains of last Israeli hostage Ran Gvili in northern Gaza after receiving new intel

The Israeli military launched a new large-scale operation to locate the buried remains of the last Israeli hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, as Israeli troops continued to comb the area to locate and destroy terror infrastructure.

In separate statements on Sunday evening, the Israel Defense Forces and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed earlier reports that a new operation had been launched after the terror organization Hamas claimed it had now passed on all available information about Gvili’s burial place to Israel.

“Since the end of the weekend, IDF forces have been carrying out a large-scale operation to locate” Gvili, the PMO said, adding that the search effort is focused on “a cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip, and includes extensive search activities while fully utilizing all intelligence information in our possession.”

The PMO stressed that the operation would “continue for as long as necessary,” while military sources told Army Radio that the estimations vary from several hours to several days.

Army Radio also reported that the cemetery belongs to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group, and that the IDF believes Gvili may have been buried in a Muslim ceremony to hide his body.

In a separate statement, the IDF urged the Israeli public “to refrain from spreading rumors and unsubstantiated reports, which may harm the Gvili family and the ongoing efforts to bring him home,” adding that it continues “to employ all necessary efforts” until his remains are returned for burial in the State of Israel.

The PMO also noted his family is being continuously updated and is familiar with the details of the operation.

Israeli media reported that the new mission was codenamed “Operation Brave Heart” and is the latest in a series of covert operations in recent weeks. “This time it seems more likely,” a military source told Army Radio, while clarifying, “If we do not find him, we will have to exhaust other intelligence leads at our disposal.”

IDF officials told the radio station that, contrary to Hamas’ statement, the information was already in Israeli hands and that Hamas only confirmed it after Israel requested confirmation through the mediators.

 “We did not identify strong eagerness or commitment on Hamas’s part to locate Gvili,” an Israeli official stressed.

According to the report, intelligence has indicated that Gvili was buried in the PIJ cemetery in the area of the Seijaiya and Daraj-Tuffah neighborhoods, along the Yellow Line demarcating the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli control.

Israeli troops on the ground have deployed specialized units, including forensic dentists who specialize in identifying remains through dental records, reportedly considered the fastest and most reliable identification method.

The dentists are on site with a portable X-ray device, allowing for comparison with Ran’s dental records, according to Army Radio, while DNA tests will be conducted later if necessary.

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Over the weekend, the IDF announced that its troops completed the dismantling of a 4-km-long tunnel system in southern Gaza, about one year after it was discovered. The structure contained several underground rooms, and troops found weapons stored there.

Last week, IDF soldiers discovered more equipment and weapons in the same area where they killed six terrorists who attacked them in an ambush. During the searches, they found an explosive device, magazines, an instructional manual for the preparation of explosives, five inactive rocket launchers and several other weapons.

On Saturday, Israeli troops identified several terrorists crossing the Yellow Line, which has been a near-daily occurrence in recent weeks.

This group of terrorists “planted an explosive device in the area, and approached the troops, posing an immediate threat to them,” the IDF reported. “Following the identification, the IAF struck and eliminated the terrorists in order to remove the threat.”

“IDF troops under the Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement framework and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the Israeli military emphasized.

Gvili (24) worked as a policeman and was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel while defending Kibbutz Alumim.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. believes it knows the location of the remains of Gvili, the last Israeli hostage in Gaza. 

Gvili’s family had criticized efforts to launch the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, including the opening of the Rafah border crossing, despite Hamas not having returned their son's body, as the first phase of the ceasefire stipulated.

“We wonder why the pressure is being directed at the wrong place. The pressure should not be on the Israeli government to continue to fulfill its part of the agreement while Hamas is deceiving the entire world and refusing to return the last kidnapped person, in accordance with the agreement it signed,” the family stated.

On Friday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir stopped by a rally on behalf of Gvili to deliver a message of hope to his parents. He said there was “room for optimism,” according to Israel's Channel 12.

Zamir reportedly said that “the mission to return him [Gvili] is at the forefront of the minds and hearts of all IDF soldiers, from the chief of staff to the very last soldier,” reassuring them that the IDF is “constantly working across all efforts to bring him home as soon as possible.”