The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday released additional footage and photos from “Operation Courageous Heart,” the mission that recovered the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage in Gaza, and returned him to Israel for burial.
The new video shows troops operating in the Shuja’iyya–Daraj–Tuffah area of northern Gaza, along with the moments in which military personnel, rabbinic officials and forensic experts confirmed Gvili’s identification before notifying his family.
The operation followed intelligence that led forces to the al-Batash cemetery in Gaza City’s Shuja’iyya area, according to the IDF, where more than 200 graves were examined before Gvili’s remains were located and brought back to Israel.
Gvili, 24, a master sergeant in the Israel Police’s Yasam unit, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, while fighting Hamas terrorists and subsequently abducted into Gaza; his body was recovered after 843 days. With his identification and return, Israeli officials say all hostages taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attacks, living and dead, have now been brought back to Israel.
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