Israel's Shin Bet security agency revealed on January 26, 2026, between 5:17 p.m. and 6:16 p.m. UTC, that a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist captured a month ago in southern Gaza City confessed during interrogation to transferring slain policeman Master Sgt. Ran Gvili's body between locations, strengthening intelligence that pinpointed his remains at Al-Batsh cemetery in eastern Gaza City, where they were recovered today, according to X posts by Amit Segal and Mannie Fabian. The operative, suspected of knowledge about the burial due to his military activity against Israeli forces, identified additional individuals aware of the body's whereabouts, as stated by Shin Bet and reported by Fabian. This intelligence corroborated prior indications of the cemetery site in Gaza City's Tufah neighborhood. Over the weekend, the IDF conducted Operation “Courageous Heart” at the cemetery, where more than 20 dentists from the IDF and Israel Police scanned about 250 bodies using advanced field equipment for over 24 hours, narrowing the search from hundreds to dozens of graves and identifying Gvili's remains, per Segal's post and a report by Moriah Asraf and Doron. Earlier today, the IDF completed the recovery of Gvili, the last deceased hostage from Gaza since October 7, 2023, and held a memorial ceremony at Nahal Oz base attended by his father Itzik Gvili and Police Commissioner Daniel Levy, as reported in the prior hour by Mannie Fabian citing Israel Police statements. Gvili's casket was transferred to police for escort to Abu Kabir forensic institute, with a funeral scheduled for Wednesday.
