The remains of the last Israeli captive recovered from the Gaza Strip were set to be buried on Wednesday in a funeral that will help Israel turn the page after one of the most traumatising periods in its history.
Ran Gvili, an off-duty police officer, was killed fighting militants during the October 7 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel. He was then seized and taken back into Gaza by the Islamic Jihad militant group, Israeli officials say.
Gvili was among about 250 people abducted during the attack, which killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and set off the war in Gaza, in which Palestinian health authorities say Israel killed more than 71,000 Palestinians.
Many of the hostages were released during two short ceasefires, but dozens died in captivity. Under the terms of an October deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas and other groups agreed to return the remaining hostages, alive or dead, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Gvili, who was the last to be released, will be buried in his hometown of Meitar in southern Israel. His casket will be driven there in a procession beginning in Camp Shura, a facility that Israel has identified for victims of the October 2023 attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog were expected to deliver eulogies at the funeral, expected to begin at 10:30am (8.30am GMT).
The return of the last hostage and his burial will mark a moment of national healing for Israelis. The Hamas attack, the bloodiest killing of Jews since the Holocaust, was widely seen as the most traumatic event in the country’s history.
It also completes a core aspect of the initial phase of Trump’s plan to end the war. The second stage, which Washington announced had started earlier this month, includes the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border with Egypt.
Reuters
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