Body of last remaining hostage retrieved from Gaza, Israel says
Vehicle, carrying the body of the last Israeli hostage remaining in Gaza Ran Gvili, arrives the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute prior to the funeral ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel on January 26, 2026. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The final deceased Israeli hostage in Gaza taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack has returned to Israel following a military operation to retrieve the body, Israeli officials said.
Rani Gvili, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces, died in combat during the Hamas attack on Israel. Hamas took his body into Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF located his body in a cemetery in northern Gaza in the area of the so-called yellow line, which marks off Israeli-controlled parts of the territory, during an operation that began Sunday morning, according to an Israeli military official. Through dental identification, the hostage was confirmed to be Gvili, 24, according to the official.
“A short time ago, we returned the late Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while addressing the Knesset on Monday. Gvili was known as both Ran and Rani.
Netanyahu congratulated the IDF and the Israel Security Agency on the “perfect execution of this sacred mission.”
Gvili’s sister said the news is bittersweet.
“Wow, I feel an insane sense of relief. I feel relieved. I am sad. I’m very sad that it ended this way, but it had to end at some point. I am so happy he’s coming back home, Rani is on his way, Rani is coming,” Shira Gvili said, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The Israeli hostage crisis lasted 843 days. Hamas kidnapped 251 people during its surprise attack, with 85 returning in caskets. More than seven weeks have passed since a deceased hostage was retrieved from Gaza; on Dec. 3, the remains of a body were transferred to Israel and later identified as Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker.
Hamas’ return of all the Israelis hostages in Gaza, and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, was agreed upon in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered Gaza Strip ceasefire deal that began in October 2025. Gvili’s return brings to a close the first phase of the ceasefire. Israel and Hamas will now move into the second, more complicated phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
President Donald Trump celebrated the return of the final hostage in a post on social media, saying, “Most thought of it as an impossible thing to do.”
Hamas said it “exerted significant efforts” in the search for Gvili and provided “necessary information as it became available, which contributed to the recovery of the body.”
Hamas called on Israel to “complete the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement without any reduction or delay, and adhere to all its obligations,” including reopening the Rafah Crossing, a border crossing point between Egypt and Gaza that has been closed since May 2024.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday it has agreed to reopen the Rafah Crossing, a limited crossing for people, not goods, following the recovery of the final deceased hostage. The US has been pushing for the Rafah to be opened as soon as possible. It’s still unclear how and who will carry out security checks on those crossing into or leaving Gaza.
Ahead of the recovery of Gvili’s body, the Trump administration said earlier this month that the Gaza peace plan is moving into the next phase, which it said “begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza.” The thorniest issue is expected to be disarming Hamas.
32 flags represent member states at the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, on December 17, 2025. Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(LONDON) — The escalating showdown between the U.S. and its NATO allies over the fate of Greenland looks set to be a dominant topic of conversation as leaders gather at this week’s World Economic Forum event in Davos, with U.S. President Donald Trump again declaring on Monday that American ownership of the Arctic island is “imperative.”
Trump said in a post on social media that, following a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, “I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland. As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees!”
Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump first raised the prospect of acquiring the minerals-rich island in his first term. Danish and Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly rebuffed such proposals.
On Monday, before his scheduled travel to Davos, Trump posted an AI-generated picture to social media showing himself planting an American flag in the ground of what a nearby sign says is the U.S. territory of Greenland, as established in 2026. Vice President JD Vance and another man — seemingly Secretary of State Marco Rubio — flanked him in the image.
European leaders, meanwhile, continued to push back on Trump’s ambitions and publicize their coordination efforts on the issue.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post to X that she met with a bipartisan congressional delegation to discuss both Russia’s war in Ukraine and recent tensions around Greenland.
Von der Leyen said she “addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark. This is of utmost importance to our transatlantic relationship.”
The European Union, she said, “remains ready to continue working closely with the United States, NATO, and other allies, in close cooperation with Denmark, to advance our shared security interests.”
“We also discussed transatlantic trade and investment. They are a major asset for both the EU and US economies. Tariffs run counter to these shared interests,” von der Leyen wrote.
Speaking at the WEF on Tuesday, von der Leyen said, “The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake.”
Referring to the trade deal signed by the EU and U.S. in July, von der Leyen added, “In politics as in business, a deal is a deal.”
“Plunging us into a downward spiral will only aid on adversaries,” she said. “Our response will be unflinching … united and proportional.”
Trump also shared screenshots on social media of what he said were direct messages from Rutte and French President Emmanuel Macron related to Greenland. Trump did not detail when the messages had been received.
In the message from Rutte, the NATO chief said he is “committed to finding a way forward on Greenland,” Rutte also praised Trump for recent developments elsewhere.
“Dear Donald — what you accomplished in Syria today is incredible. I will use my media engagements in Davos to highlight your work there, in Gaza, and in Ukraine,” he wrote. “Can’t wait to see you. Yours, Mark.”
A NATO official confirmed to ABC News the authenticity of Rutte’s message to Trump.
In his messages, Macron also noted alignment with the U.S. on Syria and said the two leaders “can do great things on Iran.”
But Macron added, “I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.”
He continued, “Let us try to build great things,” suggesting a post-Davos G7 meeting in Paris at which talks could be arranged with Ukrainian, Danish, Syrian and Russian representatives. Macron also suggested that he have dinner with Trump before the president’s return to the U.S.
A source close to Macron confirmed to ABC News that the message was genuine. “It shows that the French president defends the same line in public and in private,” they said. “In Greenland, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is non-negotiable, and our commitment as a NATO ally to security in the Arctic region remains intact.”
Trump has suggested that U.S. sovereignty over Greenland is necessary to ensure American security and blunt Chinese and Russian influence in the Arctic region. A 1951 defense agreement already grants the U.S. military access to Greenland, but Trump has suggested the deal is inadequate.
Denmark and its European allies have sought to ease concerns about the supposed vulnerability of the Arctic through more military spending and by sending small contingents of troops to Greenland last week.
But Trump interpreted the deployments as a provocation, and announced new 10% tariffs on all goods from the eight nations — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland — that sent troops.
European leaders hit back at Trump’s decision and said the move threatened a new transatlantic trade war.
Speaking at the WEF on Tuesday, Macron criticized “competition from the United States of America through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions, and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe.”
Such measures, he said, were “combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable — even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty.”
The Greenland military exercises, Macron said, posed no threat and were a step taken to support Denmark. “Cooperating is not about blaming others,” Macron said. “We do prefer respect to bullies.”
Danish and Greenlandic ministers traveled on Monday to Brussels to meet with NATO chief Rutte.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said afterward that the Greenland issue poses challenges “fundamentally to Europe and, for that matter, also the future of NATO.” Poulsen said Rutte is “very aware of the difficult situation.”
Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said the meeting “achieved some important things with regard to security in the Arctic.” She added, “It is important to know how to work with security in the Arctic. That is why we are now carrying out various exercises.”
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, meanwhile, was in the U.K. on Monday to meet with his counterpart in London.
“In turbulent times, close allies are crucial — Denmark and the UK stand close together,” Rasmussen wrote on X. “We agree on the need for stronger NATO engagement in the Arctic and closer security cooperation.”
Speaking on CNBC from the WEF on Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said of Trump’s recent statements on acquiring Greenland that “everyone should take the president at his word.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Kevin Shalvey, Meg Mistry, Joseph Simonetti, Tom Soufi Burridge and Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
Who needs Santa on Christmas when you have a performance from Snoop Dogg?
Snoop entertained fans Thursday with his Holiday Halftime Party, part of Netflix‘s NFL Christmas Day telecast. The performance took place at halftime of the matchup between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings and began with an introduction from Snoop’s longtime friend Martha Stewart, who put her own spin on the classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
“I sprung from my bed and said, ‘What is cracking?’ Hailing from the one and only LBC, give it up for Snoop D -O- Double G,” Martha said as she flipped the pages to a book with illustrations of Snoop.
Snoop then emerged dressed in a red suit and coat, performing songs including “The One and Only,” “My Favorite Things” and “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang.” He was backed by an orchestra, a marching band and dancers.
Huntr/x, the trio behind Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters movie, joined Snoop for a pop rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas” and then Lainey Wilson followed with “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” arriving in a white sleigh. Andrea Bocelli later took the stage with his son Matteo Bocelli to duet on “White Christmas.”
The Greenlandic flag flies over houses, Jan. 17, 2026, in Nuuk, Greenland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The leaders of all 27 European Union nations will meet for an “extraordinary meeting” later this week, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Sunday, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating pressure campaign to acquire Greenland.
European leaders are mobilizing after Trump on Saturday announced a 10% tariff to be imposed on all goods sent to the U.S. from eight NATO nations — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland — that recently sent small contingents of troops to Greenland to take part in military exercises there.
On Sunday, Trump sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in which the president again expressed his desire to take control of Greenland. Store’s office confirmed to ABC News on Monday that Oslo received the message from Trump. The details of the letter were first reported by PBS.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also,” the president continued. “I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
Costa said he had called the meeting due to the “significance of recent developments.”
European leaders are mobilizing after Trump on Saturday announced a 10% tariff to be imposed on all goods sent to the U.S. from eight NATO nations — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland — that recently sent small contingents of troops to Greenland to take part in military exercises there.
Costa said recent conversations with European leaders had reconfirmed their “strong commitment” to international law, Arctic security through NATO and solidarity with Denmark and Greenland in the face of Trump’s continued effort to acquire the Arctic island.
European leaders also agreed that “tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the EU-U.S. trade agreement,” Costa said, noting the bloc’s “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion” and to engage “constructively with the US on all issues of common interest.”
An EU Council spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that the summit would be an in-person meeting in Brussels.
Trump said the new tariffs will come into force on Feb. 1 and will increase to 25% on June 1. The president said the measures would remain in place until the U.S. is able to purchase Greenland.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump first raised the prospect of acquiring the minerals-rich island in his first term. Danish and Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly rebuffed such proposals.
Trump’s new tariffs raise the risk of a fresh transatlantic trade war. A French official confirmed to ABC News on Monday that French President Emmanuel Macron “will request the activation of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument in the event of new U.S. tariffs.”
That mechanism, colloquially known as the bloc’s “trade bazooka,” would allow the EU to impose severe restrictions on U.S. goods and services. Among the available measures would be restrictions on U.S. investment in EU nations, blocks on access to public procurement schemes and limits on intellectual property protections.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that U.S. sovereignty over the world’s largest island is necessary to ensure American security and blunt Chinese and Russian influence in the Arctic region. On Sunday, the president again claimed that only the U.S. can ensure the security of Greenland.
A 1951 defense agreement grants the U.S. military access to Greenland. Danish politicians have repeatedly expressed willingness to work with Washington to expand the American and NATO presence there.
Danish officials have also sought to head off concerns about the supposed vulnerability of the Arctic. Last year, Copenhagen announced a $6.5 billion Arctic defense package in response to U.S. criticism that it had failed to adequately protect Greenland.
But such steps do not appear to have deterred Trump, who has said he would consider taking Greenland by force if other means to acquire the land fail.
Indeed, it was the recent deployment of more NATO forces to the Arctic territory that prompted Trump to threaten a new raft of tariffs. The troops traveled to Greenland to take part in the Danish-led Operation Arctic Endurance.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt are scheduled to visit NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on Monday for a previously planned meeting with the alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte, NATO said in a press release.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged “calm discussion” between allies. “The security of Greenland matters and it will matter more as climate change reshapes the Arctic,” he said, noting the need for “greater attention, greater investment and stronger collective defense.”
“The United States will be central to that effort, and the U.K. stands ready to contribute fully alongside our allies through NATO,” Starmer said, adding that any decisions about the territory’s future should be left to Greenlanders and Danes.
Trump’s use of tariffs against allies, Starmer continued, “is completely wrong. It is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance. Nor is it helpful to frame efforts to strengthen Greenland’s security as a justification for economic pressure.”
ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Tom Soufi Burridge and Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.
