Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking before the Knesset plenum on Monday, announced the return of the last hostage remaining in Gaza, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, “a hero of Israel.”
Netanyahu recited a special prayer of thanks and quoted from the book of Jeremiah.
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion,” Netanyahu said, reciting the Shehecheyanu prayer.
“I congratulate the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and the Shin Bet on the perfect execution of this holy mission,” he said.
Netanyahu related how he had promised Gvili’s parents that he would return their son’s remains. “The sons shall return to their own borders, the daughters to their own borders,” he said, paraphrasing Jeremiah.
“We have completed the task, as I promised, and so will we complete all the tasks that we have set before us,” Netanyahu said.
He thanked Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, National Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing in the Prime Minister’s Office, “for his tireless dedication to this mission.”
He also thanked his colleagues in the government, U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump administration adviser Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, “for their great and important support.”
“All 255 abductees from the Gaza Strip were returned and extricated to Israel—168 of them alive and 87 killed,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Other Israeli leaders expressed their satisfaction at the return of Gvili’s remains.
“Ran was a courageous fighter, driven by a deep sense of mission and national responsibility,” said Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz. “His bravery on that difficult morning is part of the story of the steadfastness and determination shown by the fighters and security forces in the face of the terrorist attack.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog posted to X, “The Special Patrol Unit fighter who went out to save lives is finally returning to his country, his family and his land.”
“An entire nation is moved to tears. The hearts of all of us are with his parents, Talik and Itzik, and the entire family, who fought a noble and heroic struggle for his return,” he said.
On Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas invasion, despite having broken his shoulder 10 days before, Gvili donned his uniform, left his house and headed out to fight.
During a battle near Kibbutz Alumim close to the Gaza Strip, he rescued some 100 people who had fled the Nova music festival and killed 14 Hamas terrorists.
He was shot in the arm and leg during the fighting. He held his position, choosing not to evacuate and radioing information about the enemy forces until he died from his wounds. Hamas then seized his body.
Since late last week, the IDF had been “conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate [Gvili],” the Prime Minister’s Office revealed on Sunday.
“Operation Courageous Heart” focused on a cemetery in northern Gaza and included extensive scanning while utilizing all available intelligence.
