Ex-Hostage Negotiator Says Hamas Has ‘Objective Difficulties’ Locating Ran Gvili’s Remains
By The Media Line Staff
Israel’s outgoing chief negotiator on hostage issues, Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, told Ynet on Monday that Hamas has “objective difficulties” locating the body of police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the final deceased hostage believed to be held in Gaza. He attributed the challenging search to the internal disorder that followed the Oct. 7 attack. The chaos made it difficult for Hamas members to retrace the movements of Gvili’s captors.
However, Alon expressed optimism that the final hostage would be recovered, given that sustained pressure on Hamas has shown results in previous stages of the negotiations and should not be eased now.
“Nevertheless, we believe that it is possible to bring him back. There is a connection between the pressure applied to Hamas and the results, so we can’t give up,” Alon said in his first wide-ranging interview since completing his role as the head of the IDF’s mission to gather intelligence on hostages.
Hamas reported to Arabic outlets days ago that they were actively engaged in the search for Gvili’s body in Gaza with Red Cross personnel.
Gvili was recuperating from a broken collarbone at his home when Hamas launched its assault on Oct. 7. Despite the injury, he put his uniform back on and joined local security teams confronting the invading gunmen near Kibbutz Alumim. The 24-year-old officer was severely wounded in the fighting and, according to Israeli authorities, died shortly after he was dragged into Gaza.
Families of hostages and supporters have held frequent demonstrations urging officials not to move forward with later phases of diplomatic planning until Gvili’s body is returned.
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