The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed in the past 30 minutes it is searching for the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line in northern Gaza Strip, based on intelligence his body is buried at a Muslim cemetery in eastern Gaza City near Shejaiya, Daraj, and Tuffah neighborhoods. The search operation began over the weekend with troops and forensic experts, including dentists, working to locate and identify Gvili's remains for return to Israel, according to the IDF as reported by military correspondent @manniefabian on X during the reporting window ending at 5:46 PM UTC on January 25, 2026. Intelligence on the cemetery location had existed with the IDF for some time but became clearer recently through IDF operations and information provided by Hamas to Israel via mediators, the army stated. The IDF noted the cemetery lead as likely while mentioning other potential intelligence leads on Gvili's remains. This IDF confirmation follows a Hamas spokesman statement earlier on January 25 reporting Israel was searching for Gvili's body based on information from Hamas's military wing, as covered in the previous report up to 5:16 PM UTC.
