Leaders mark return of Ran Gvili after 843 days
After 843 days, the return of Ran Gvili’s body brings a measure of closure to Israel and Jewish communities.
Australian Jewish leaders have described the return of the body of Israel’s last remaining hostage Ran Gvili to Israel for burial as providing a measure of “closure”.
His body was located and identified in a Muslim cemetery in Gaza on Monday and brought to Israel for burial on Wednesday.
Gvili, 24, served as police officer and despite having a broken shoulder, on hearing of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, drove to Kibbutz Alumim, where he fought terrorists before he was killed and his body abducted to Gaza.
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025, required Hamas release all living and deceased hostages within 72 hours, but the return of deceased hostages continued for months.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We promised, and I promised, to bring everyone back, and we brought everyone back.”
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