The IDF has confirmed what people have been praying for over the past 843 days: Ran Gvili has been returned to Israel. Ynet reports that the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute confirmed his identity after receiving his remains over the weekend. Israeli intelligence indicated that Gvili’s location was in a cemetery on the IDF’s side of the Yellow Line.
The mother of Ran Gvili thanked the IDF chief of staff, saying, “He would be proud of you. You are the best.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke with Itzik and Talik Gvili, the parents of the fallen hostage Ran, after the body of their son, a tactical police officer, was located and identified. “We kept our promise that no one is left behind. IDF soldiers, the fighters at the front and the entire nation are deeply moved by Ran’s return to a Jewish burial,” Zamir told them.
“After two and a half years, it is a real relief,” his mother Talik replied. “Please tell all the teams that they are the best.” His father Itzik added, “There is no one like you.”
Later, Talik wrote in a Facebook post: “The first to go out, the last to return. Our hero.”
Gvili was at his home in Kibbutz Alumim with a broken shoulder from a motorcycle accident when the terrorists attacked. He sprang into action as if he were already healed, put on his uniform, and joined his unit. He was last seen fighting Hamas terrorists at the kibbutz’s front entrance before he was wounded, kidnapped, and taken to Gaza.
For the first time since 2014, there are no hostages in Gaza. Since October 7—and throughout the ensuing war—there have been ongoing prayers for those held captive. Now, those prayers have been answered, and we praise God as the people of Israel become whole again.
