CAIRO, January 25. /TASS/. Hamas says it has informed the mediators where the body of last Israeli hostage can be found in the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military already searching for his body.

"With regard to the body of Ran Gvili, we affirm that we have provided the mediators with all the details and information we have regarding the location of the captive’s body," Hamas said in a statement. ""What confirms the truth of our statements is that the enemy is now searching one of the locations based on the information provided by the al-Qassam Brigades to the mediators."

Israeli soldier Ran Gvili was killed on October 7, 2023 during the Hamas attack on Israel. His body was to be handed over to Israel as part of phase one on the Gaza ceasefire agreement, but this hasn’t been done until now.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking more than 250 hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages.

Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the implementation of phase one of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The ceasefire came into effect on October 10. On October 13, Hamas and other Palestinian groups released all 20 living hostages and handed over the bodies of four deceased hostages under the Gaza ceasefire deal. Later, Hamas transferred several more bodies to Israel. By now, Hamas continues holding one more body.