"A Hero of Israel"
The Last Hostage: Israel’s Elite Delegation Rushes to Cairo to Secure Return of Elite Officer Ran Gvili
While one grieving family finds closure with the return of their loved one, an Israeli delegation is now fighting to retrieve the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last fallen hero held by Gaza terrorists.
A Delegation’s Urgent Mission
An Israeli delegation, acting on the explicit instructions of Prime Minister Netanyahu, flew to Cairo this morning (Thursday) for urgent discussions with mediators. The mission's singular focus is to secure the immediate return of the last remaining fallen hostage held by Gaza terror groups: Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, of blessed memory.
The delegation was headed by the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, Brigadier General (Res.) Gal Hirsch, and included high-ranking officials from the IDF, Shin Bet, and the Mossad. Following the talks, all parties agreed to concentrate on an "intensive and immediate effort" to bring the mission regarding all hostages and missing persons to a full completion.
The urgency of this mission is heightened by the tragic reality that Ran Gvili is the only deceased hostage whose remains are still being held captive by terrorists in Gaza.
Ran Gvili: The Hero Officer
Master Sergeant Ran Gvili, an officer in the Israel Police counterterror unit (Yassam), was brutally murdered in combat while bravely defending the community of Alumim on October 7, 2023. His body was subsequently abducted and taken into the Gaza Strip, where it has been held by terror groups ever since.
Ran Gvili's personal story and sacrifice resonate deeply across Israel. His family, the beloved Gvili family, continues to endure agonizing uncertainty. The Tikva Forum spoke on behalf of the family’s pain, stating, "Our hearts are with the beloved Gvili family. Dear Talik and Itzik, we stand behind you and we will not stop until Rani, a hero of Israel, returns home." The forum called on the political leadership to ensure that "for every day that Rani does not return home, Hamas must pay a price - a heavy price."
As President Isaac Herzog stated, Ran Gvili was a police officer who "fought and fell heroically on October 7th," underscoring the commitment that "When we say we won't stop until every last hostage is home, we mean it."
A Painful Exchange
The delegation's Cairo visit comes as the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the return of another slain hostage's remains. On Thursday morning, the body of deceased hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai national, was returned to Israel.
Rinthalak, 42, was a hardworking agricultural laborer who came to Israel in 2017 and was known as a dedicated worker at Kibbutz Be'eri. He was kidnapped from the orchards of the kibbutz on October 7 and murdered by Islamic Jihad terrorists.
His identity was finalized by the National Center of Forensic Medicine. Brig. Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch personally informed Sudthisak’s family through the Thai Embassy, ensuring that arrangements for his burial in his homeland would be coordinated. His family, who recalls his love for omelets with tomatoes, had waited 789 painful days for his return.
This repatriation provides a measure of closure for the Rinthalak family, but it serves only to intensify the focus on the terrorists' ongoing cruelty. Earlier this week, a transfer of remains from Gaza, said to have been located by Islamic Jihad in Beit Lahiya, was found not to belong to any deceased hostages upon examination in Israel. This follows the return last week of the body of Dror Or, who was murdered and abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri. The current count now rests solely on the remains of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.