Free Republic

The remains of the final Israeli hostage being held in Gaza has finally been recovered following a dramatic last-ditch effort, Israel said Monday — well over two years after the Israel-Hamas war broke out. Police officer Ran Gvili’s body was located and identified following a “large-scale operation” in a cemetery in northern Gaza over the weekend, according to Israel’s Defense Force. “There are officially no more hostages in captivity in Gaza,” the IDF confirmed in statement in X. Gvili’s body will now be returned to his family in the Jewish state for burial, officials said. Israeli teams started combing through...

Ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli officials are concerned that Washington may force a transition to Phase II of the Gaza agreement without the return of the last killed hostage, Israel Police Yamam special operations unit Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, and without firm commitments to Hamas’ disarmament and the demilitarization of the Strip. In Jerusalem, there is concern that the Americans will seek to move forward “at any cost,” potentially demanding further Israeli withdrawals and the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions, while showing less interest in the facts...

...Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Sunday that Israel "kidnapped" a terrorist from the Islamic Jihad organization from within Gaza City several days ago. According to the report, the terrorist was kidnapped in the area near Palestine Square, in the heart of Gaza City, and only about a kilometer from the Yellow Line. It was also reported that the terrorist is connected to the possession of the body of hostage Ran Gvili.