Israeli family waits for remains of last hostage

DW (English)

People have gathered in Tel Aviv to call for the return of Ran Gvili's remains — the last hostage still held in Gaza. More than two years on, his parents say the wait for the return of his body has become unbearable.

Transcript

00:00Shortly before Shabbat, the weekend, people gathered here in Tel Aviv to call for the

00:05return of Rahn, or Rani Gveli, the last remaining hostage in Gaza.

00:10Gveli, a member of an elite police unit, was killed by Hamas-led militants in the 7th of

00:16October 2023 terror attack, and his body was taken back to Gaza.

00:22More than two years later, his parents say the wait for his return has become unbearable.

00:30We know that someone has to be the last one, and it's Rani.

00:36Now we're waiting for him to come.

00:39We must keep Rani all the time, on the media, everywhere.

00:48So this is why we come here, and this is why we must keep doing it until Rani comes home,

00:56to don't forget him in Gaza.

01:00Rahn Gveli is often described as a hero by Israelis.

01:04On October 7th, he was killed helping to fight Hamas militants at Kibbutz Al-Omim in southern

01:10Israel.

01:11His family did not learn of his fate until three months later.

01:15So this gathering has now replaced the weekly protests that used to take over this square

01:20in central Tel Aviv.

01:21It was renamed Hostages Square and had become a symbol of the struggle to secure the release

01:26of all 251 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants from Gaza on October 7th, 2023.

01:35If and when Gveli's remains are returned, it is expected that it will mark the beginning

01:41of the second phase of the agreed ceasefire plan conceived by the Trump administration,

01:47a plan that now has stalled.

01:49We finished the first part, as you know, phase one, we're almost there.

01:55We have one more hostage, deceased, Rani Gveli, a hero of Israel, to return here.

02:02And then we very shortly expect to move into the second phase, which is more difficult.

02:08Meanwhile, the focus in Israel is shifting.

02:12Calls for a national commission of inquiry on the October 7th attacks are growing louder

02:17to investigate the government's responsibilities.

02:21And Saturday night protests are returning to anti-government protests.

02:26I will never stop until things will get better, until things will change.

02:32For me to see the government changing is like the main goal after the returning of the last

02:39hostage, Rani.

02:40I also think that everyone, also the people in the army and in the government should take

02:47responsibility and say sorry to all of the families and all of our countries.

02:53Here in Tel Aviv, Gveli's family is worried that he might become a lost case.

02:59His remains never, in fact, returned.

03:02For now, however, there is hope that Israel's last hostage from October 7th will be home soon.

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