Mother of last hostage: ‘Without Rani, our country can’t heal’
It’s fitting that Ran Gvili, killed fighting Hamas on Oct. 7, would be the last to return, says his mother Talik: ‘That was his thing, to make sure everyone else was okay first’
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The mother of the last hostage in Gaza says Israel will not heal until he or his remains are brought home, and that the next phase of a peace plan should not proceed until he is back.
Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili was one of 251 hostages taken during the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Israeli authorities declared Gvili dead in January 2024, but his body has not been recovered and his family is clinging to the faint hope that he is still alive.
“We’re at the last stretch and we have to be strong, for Rani, for us, and for Israel. Without Rani, our country can’t heal,” his mother, Talik Gvili, told Reuters.
Posters of Gvili line the streets of Meitar, his hometown in southern Israel.
When Hamas attacked, he was recovering at home from a broken collarbone. He quickly put on his uniform and joined the fight in nearby Kibbutz Alumim.
Gvili, who was 24 at the time, was badly wounded and Israeli authorities said he did not survive for long after being taken to Gaza, his mother said.
“We want to feel him, we want to feel some tiny doubt [that he died],” his mother said, before adding: “It might just be wishful thinking.”
When Israel and Hamas agreed to a truce-hostage deal on October 9, there were still 20 living and 28 deceased hostages in Gaza.
The living hostages were returned on October 13, within 72 hours of Israel’s initial October 10 partial withdrawal. In exchange, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, including some 250 terror convicts serving life terms in connection with the murders of dozens of Israelis.
The remains of 27 deceased hostages, including a soldier killed fighting in the 2014 Gaza war, have been returned gradually over some two months, with Hamas saying field conditions made it difficult to locate many bodies. Under the US-brokered truce-hostage deal, Israel is to return the remains of 15 deceased Gazans for each deceased hostage.
Once all hostages are returned, US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive ceasefire plan aims to tackle issues such as Gaza’s future governance, rebuilding and disarmament, as Israel stages a further withdrawal inside Gaza and lets in more aid.
Asked about the possibility that Israel might proceed with talks on Gaza before Gvili is returned, his mother said: “No way. We won’t let that happen.”
‘We’re not alone’
The hostages’ plight gave birth to a grassroots movement dedicated to their return. Posters showing their faces were placed on highways, bus stops, skyscrapers, shops and homes across Israel, and people gathered weekly at the Tel Aviv plaza that became known as Hostages Square to demand their return.
“We’re not alone,” Talik Gvili said, adding that she felt support and solidarity from across the political spectrum.
She described her son as a strong and kind-hearted person who would look out for those weaker than him.
“We’re happy everyone has returned, except for Rani. We have become one big family, so every hostage who returned brought relief, closure. But somebody had to be last, and it looks like that was our fate,” she said. “But that was his thing, to make sure everyone else was okay first.”
The Times of Israel Community.