Israel brought home the remains of the last hostage in Gaza on Monday, closing a painful chapter for the country and clearing the way for the next and more challenging phase of its ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel's military says the remains of Ran Gvili, the last person whose body was taken hostage into Gaza, have been recovered.

The announcement that the remains of Ran Gvili had been found and identified came a day after Israel's government said the military was conducting a 'large-scale operation' in a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate them.

The remains of Ran Gvili, the final Israeli hostage held by Hamas, have been recovered from Gaza. The police officer died defending Israel on Oct. 7.

The Israeli military says it has retrieved the body of the last hostage in Gaza, paving the way for the next phase of US President Donald Trump's peace plan to get under way. It had been searching for Master Sgt Ran Gvili since the ceasefire with Hamas began in October.

Israeli fire killed three Palestinians in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, while an Israeli drone wounded four others in Gaza City, the territory's health ministry said on Sunday.

The final Israeli hostage was recovered and brought back to Israel on Monday, the Israeli military said, concluding the long process of bringing the hostages back from Gaza following the October 7 terrorist attack more than two years ago.

The Israeli military said on Monday all hostages abducted by Palestinian militant organization Hamas have now been accounted for, after the remains of police officer Ran Gvili were identified and returned to Israel.