The parents of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage whose body was returned from Gaza, will travel to Australia on Feb. 18 to show solidarity with the Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre.
Talik and Itzik Gvili will be accompanied by Joseph Waks, founder and director of Hayeladim Shelanu (“Our Children”), an organization founded in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack to support families in Israel who have lost loved ones to war and terrorism, a spokesperson for the NGO said on Monday.
They are coming to Australia “to comfort and to be comforted,” Waks said.
They will meet with Jewish communities in Melbourne and Sydney to share their son’s story of heroism and sacrifice, and to strengthen the bond between Australian Jewry and bereaved families in Israel.
Waks said the Gvilis’s presence carries particular meaning following the trauma of the Bondi Beach mass shooting at a Chanukah candle-lighting event on Dec. 14, which deeply impacted Jewish families across Australia and beyond.
A major community gathering will be held at St Kilda Shule in Melbourne on Feb. 22, followed by an event at the Central Synagogue in Sydney on Feb. 25, the organization’s spokesperson said.
The Gvilises are expected to return on March 2.
Hayeladim Shelanu supports bereaved families across Israel through direct assistance, healing initiatives and community-building programs.
Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old Israel Police Special Patrol Unit (Yasam) volunteer from Meitar, near Beersheva, fought with extraordinary courage on Oct. 7, 2023. When the massacre began, he left his house, put on his uniform and headed out to fight. About 10 days earlier he had broken his shoulder, and was waiting for surgery, yet he still chose to join the battle.
During the battle near Kibbutz Alumim, he rescued about 100 people who had fled the Supernova music festival. He killed 14 Hamas terrorists before he was abducted.
A panel of experts ruled in January 2024 that Gvili was no longer alive.
His funeral was held in his hometown on Jan. 28.
