We arrived yesterday in the United States to meet with senior U.S. officials, including U.S. President Donald Trump. Our goals in these meetings are clear and precise. We demand that there is no move to Phase 2 of the Gaza deal until Phase 1 is completed, the phase in which all the hostages return home from the hands of the Hamas murderers. Our beloved Ran, the first to go, and the last to return, is still there.
Time for us is not measured by a regular clock, but by the heartbeats of anxiety and hope.
Ran Gvili, my son, was on the front line on Oct. 7, 2023. He defended with his injured body the country he loved so much, and now, when he is the last hostage remaining in captivity, the responsibility to bring him back rests on all our shoulders. As we stand here, on American soil, we are not asking for mercy. We are demanding justice and basic morality.
Our message to the American administration and to President Trump is unequivocal: There is no Phase 2 without the completion of Phase 1.
The diplomatic wheels cannot continue moving forward while Ran is not here. Phase 1 is not merely a recommendation; it is the moral basis for our existence as a society. All talk of future arrangements, rehabilitation of Gaza, or “the day after” is empty as long as Ran is not home. We are here to remind everyone that behind the numbers and strategies is our child, a loyal defender and a family whose life has stopped.
We came to the United States because we believe that it has the power and influence to turn over every stone. President Trump, who advocates for strength and decisiveness, must understand that Ran is the ultimate symbol of that decisiveness. His return will be the true victory over terror.
We demand uncompromising pressure on all parties involved: There can be no easing up, no side agreements and no normalization of this situation.
Eight hundred fifteen days is an eternity, but our spirits are not broken. I represent not only my private pain, but the conscience of an entire nation that refuses to abandon the wounded on the battlefield. Ran went out first to fight, and he must be the one who closes this terrible circle and returns home.
We will not rest, and we will not be silent. Ran’s voice echoes through us here in America, and it says one thing: Bring him back now!
Only when Ran crosses the border back to Israel will we be able to know that the mission is complete. Until then, we are his voice, and we do not intend to lower it for a moment.
Talik Gvili is the mother of Border Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, and a member of the Tikva Forum of Hostages’ Families.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
