The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, has reportedly resumed coordinated searches alongside the International Committee of the Red Cross for the body of Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili HY”D in eastern Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, according to Palestinian media reports.

Footage circulating from the area shows armed Hamas operatives operating in the vicinity, with Red Cross vehicles and heavy machinery, including bulldozers, visible at the scene as the search effort continues.

Notably absent from the operation are members of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). PIJ terrorists were responsible for capturing Gvili’s body after he was killed while heroically defending Kibbutz Alumim during the Hamas-led massacre and invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023 — the attack that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.

Arabic media outlets have previously cited PIJ sources claiming that Gvili’s body was transferred to Hamas custody during the course of the war and has since been held in eastern Gaza City.

Israeli officials have made clear that Israel will not agree to advance to the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire arrangement until Gvili’s body is returned, underscoring the national and moral imperative to bring the last remaining hostage home for proper burial.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)