Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces during today’s cabinet session that one of five new communities to be established in the Negev will be named after the final slain hostage held in Gaza, Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, according to Hebrew media reports.
The reports say that the premier announced that five new communities will be built along the Beersheba–Dimona corridor in Israel’s south.
“I have decided that one of the communities in the Negev will be called ‘Renanim’ (‘rejoicing’) in memory of an Israeli hero, the last hostage, the late Ran Gvili,” Netanyahu is quoted as saying.
Netanyahu’s office has not yet confirmed the decision.
In recent months and years, the government has approved several plans to promote development and new construction in southern Israel, including a 2022 plan to establish five new communities in the Negev. It was not immediately clear whether the communities Netanyahu referred to are part of that existing proposal or represent a separate initiative.
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 25, 2026
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