Trucks line up at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza after Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks. Photograph: Mohamed Arafat/APIsraeli troops located the remains of the last remaining hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, in northern Gaza on Monday and returned his body to Israel for burial. Mr Gvili (24) was killed defending kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel during the Hamas-led attack on October 7th, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Mr Gvili had been buried in a Muslim cemetery in the Shejaiah neighbourhood of Gaza city, on the Israeli side of the yellow line demarcation border. Israel believes the Islamic Jihad buried Gvili in the cemetery, thinking incorrectly that he was one of their own fighters or at least Palestinian.

Source: The Irish Times January 26, 2026 17:18 UTC