Photo by
Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL on 28 January, 2026
‘A Hero of Israel’: Nation Bids Farewell to Last Hostage Ran Gvili
Jerusalem, 28 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Israel bid farewell to Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage from Gaza on Wednesday as thousands flag-waving Israelis lined the streets in somber tribute. Politicians, police officers and ordinary people converged on Gvili’s Negev hometown of Meitar.
Gvili, 24, was killed while defending Kibbutz Alumim during the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
“Seeing everyone here standing in front of you and what you did, and saved, and united – it’s not obvious. Every day we find something new about you. Even a few hours ago when we received you in the news and opened the coffin and touched you. After two and a half years, you are completely whole. I miss you every second,” said Gvili’s father, Itzik.
Said his mother, Tali, “I just wanted to tell you, my love, that the hope that you will return to us on two legs, or even on one, is what has kept me going. Since that damned day, every time a tear comes to my eye, I remember you.”
She added, “The first to leave, the last to return, Rani. I imagine you in the stands above with all those who sacrificed their lives. I see all of you with a glass of arak, all of you heroes.”
Omri Gvili spoke of his last phone call with his brother.
“I remember that damn day in the last conversation I had with you,” he said. “I tried to laugh with you, and you told me calmly, ‘I’m in a fight, I’ll talk to you later. Let me finish.’ To this day, I’m waiting for this conversation.”
Ran’s sister, Shira, said, “I didn’t think it would take 843 days to get you back.”
She added, “When I flew to America, there was one goal — to bring you home. I did everything to get you back. I spoke, I traveled, I talked, I fought. Now allow me to drop the title of hostage’s sister and go back to simply being Rani’s sister.”
President Isaac Herzog called Gvili a “hero of Israel” and urged the nation to honor everyday acts of heroism.
“All the doers of kindness. Everyone who carried the pictures of the kidnapped on their hearts. Everyone who loves their neighbor as he is. They walk next to us on the street. They are in line at the supermarket. They are on buses, at parents’ meetings, at work, at school. They are here, right here, reach out and touch them. Reach out and hug them,” Herzog said.
“They are here for us — just like Rani Gvili, who, without blinking or asking — repeatedly said ‘Here I am’ and went out into hell to protect us. I, like the thousands here, and tens of thousands throughout the country, can only regret that I did not get to know him in his lifetime, to embrace him in his lifetime.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that Israel is prepared to continue fighting.
Gvili’s return “is not the end and we will accomplish our goal to demilitarize the Gaza Strip and destroy Hamas,” Netanyahu stressed, adding, “To all those who want to destroy us, hear Rani’s mother. You won’t defeat us. We will defeat you.”
Praising Gvili’s heroism, Netanyahu said, “Ran saved many lives, despite being shot twice. He defended Kibbutz Alumim and killed 14 damned terrorists. His exemplary fighting until the last bullet will be remembered for generations.”
Other eulogies were given by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yosef while police officials were also due to speak. Following the speeches, Gvili will be buried in the Meitar cemetery. The burial has been closed to public.
A member of Yasam, an elite police unit, Gvili was at a hospital waiting to undergo surgery for a broken shoulder when he learned of Hamas’ attack on southern Israel. He rushed home, put on his uniform, and joined other personnel heading to Kibbutz Alumim.
Gvili is credited with rescuing around 100 people who fled the nearby Nova Music Festival, and with killing 14 Hamas terrorists. The last word heard from Gvili was when he texted a friend saying he had been shot in the leg.
The military declared Gvili dead based on intelligence in January 2024.
Gvili’s remains were found in a cemetery in Gaza City and brought back to Israel on Monday. According to military assessments, Palestinian Islamic Jihad likely buried Gvili with other terrorists, not realizing who he was.
Gvili, an avid guitarist, motorcyclist, and amateur carpenter, is survived by his parents, Itzik and Tali, and a brother and a sister.
Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
