“The burial of Ran Gvili brings an end to the painful reality of the existence of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday (28 January) as Israel laid to rest the last captive recovered from Gaza after the 7 October, 2023 attacks.
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Ran Gvili, an off-duty police officer killed while fighting Hamas militants during the attack on southern Israel. His remains were later taken into Gaza by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, Israeli officials said.
Of the roughly 250 people abducted during the October 7 assault, Gvili was the final hostage to be returned, dead or alive.
He was buried in his hometown of Meitar in southern Israel after a funeral procession that began at Camp Shura, the military facility where victims of the attack were identified.
Police officers and civilians carrying Israeli flags lined parts of the route as Gvili’s casket was driven to the cemetery.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also delivered a eulogy, saying the nation mourned Gvili, who was 24 when he died. “The shattered fragments of our hearts can slowly begin to gather toward healing and repair,” Herzog said.
Among those attending the procession was Tzvika Mor, whose son Eitan Mor was taken hostage and released last October. “So we’re here to say goodbye and to stand with the Gvili family,” he said, calling Gvili a hero.
Gvili’s aunt, Harel Plachinsky, described the burial as a moment of closure. “This is some kind of ending the war,” she said. “I think that the seventh of October is ending today.”
Under an October agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas and other groups agreed to return all remaining hostages, alive or dead, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. The burial of Gvili completes a central element of the deal’s initial phase.
The return and burial of the final hostage is widely seen in Israel as a moment of national healing following what many consider the most traumatic event in the country’s history.
The second stage of the plan, which Washington said began earlier this month, also includes the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, calling the st...
Iran says it has delivered on its promise of a “faster, heavier and more painful” response to Washington, striking U.S. bases, warships...
Climate leaders in Baku are calling for a shift from climate commitments to concrete action as day three of Baku Climate Action Week focuses on imp...
Four people were killed, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region. Ukraine's drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, said Russian military ships were destroyed in the attacks.
A TV channel was struck during a live broadcast on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, drones hit civilian infrastructure in Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly launched two ballistic missile attacks against a U.S. Navy warship over the past two days.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Indonesia has reopened Jakarta's main airport and four others after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau forced widespread flight cancellations, though fresh eruptions have kept authorities on alert.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, calling the strikes a response to a U.S. attack on five Iranian tankers.
The United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, warning that escalating drone warfare and attacks on civilian infrastructure are deepening the country's already devastating humanitarian crisis.
Climate leaders in Baku are calling for a shift from climate commitments to concrete action as day three of Baku Climate Action Week focuses on implementation, cooperation and measurable results.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has dissolved parliament and called a snap election for 25 October, as he seeks to extend his political influence by running for prime minister.
Four people were killed, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region. Ukraine's drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, said Russian military ships were destroyed in the attacks.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment