“We still believe we’ll see a sign of life. What goes through my mind is that maybe Hamas will now announce it wants a new deal because it has a living hostage, and suddenly the bargaining chip appears: Rani is alive. They release a video of him, and he’s alive, healthy and whole.”
That is how Sgt. First Class Richard Schechtman, 29, from Be'er Sheva — a Yasam special forces officer and unit mate of Sgt. First Class Ran Gvili, 24 — expressed his hope on Thursday. Gvili is the last deceased hostage in Gaza. After the remains of Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak were returned to Israel, Gvili’s mother, Talik, said: “The first to go and the last to return.”
Schechtman and another unit member, Sgt. First Class Shai Dego, 24, from Netivot, got to know Gvili shortly before Oct. 7. Both were new recruits to the Yasam police unit, and they say Gvili made sure they never felt alone. On Oct. 7, they fought at his side in Alumim.
“The last time I saw him was Oct. 7, when we arrived together at Alumim,” Schechtman recalled. “We came as a team of six Yasam fighters and an undercover officer who joined us. I remember we got out of the car, cleared the area and Rani was at the head of the team — because that’s who he was. Rani and I were standing on the road. I saw the terrorists, but I hesitated because it was the first time in my life I’d ever seen a terrorist face-to-face, and I had a moment of, ‘Wait, what am I seeing?’ Then Rani pulled the pin and opened fire — and the whole team followed him.”
The team split up when Gvili ran with an IDF officer to chase the terrorists’ car. “Afterward, I spoke with him on the phone. He called and sent me his location,” Schechtman said. “He said, ‘Richard, I’m wounded in my hand and leg. I need you to get to me now.’ He said it calmly, and that changed everything for me.
“With all the massive gunfire, I went into shock. I froze. I was lying on the ground and couldn’t see any of my friends or the fighters. They were shooting at me. AK-47s, RPGs, grenades from every direction. I didn’t know what to do. The commanders weren’t with me. I was new in the unit — only six months. I was in shock, and Rani’s call gave me the push, the slap I needed. His composure gave me the strength to get up.”
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Gvili’s comrades at the site where he was wounded and taken hostage
(Photo: Israel Police)
Dego said he, too, feels strongly that Gvili survived. “I was new in the unit, didn’t understand who was who, and he came straight up to me and started talking. He made me feel I had someone to rely on,” he said. “On Oct. 7, we got into the van. When you see someone like Rani beside you — he looked big and impressive — you automatically feel calmer and safer. You’re glad someone like that is on your team, that he’ll be there for his friends. And that’s exactly how he was in the field. We arrived and you saw how he responded, always alert, ready and pushing to engage.
“Every report about another hostage expected to return shakes you. I have hope that one day they’ll tell us Rani is still alive and show a video.”
The two stay in close contact with Gvili’s family. “At first, I went to his family almost every day, then once a week. They always welcome us and are happy the house is full of his friends, of the people waiting for him,” Schechtman said. “I never thought, not even for a second, that he fell in battle. If anyone can survive something like this — it’s him. Only him. He’s not just a cop or a fighter. He’s a hero. Someone who can get through anything.
“People need to understand that Rani could have stayed home. His father tried to stop him, and he said, ‘My friends are out there. No chance I leave them alone.’ You see characters like this only in movies. I love action movies, I watch them all the time — Hollywood. Rani had a broken shoulder. He wasn’t supposed to be able to lift his arm, but he fought there like a lion. They found 14 terrorist bodies at the kidnapping site. It’s like a science fiction movie. No ordinary person could do that.”
'Rani — The Shield of Alumim'
'Ran Gvili, 24, a resident of the town of Meitar, was a member of the Yasam Negev unit. On Oct. 7, 2023, while on medical leave at home, he chose to go out and fight alongside his friends. He was on his way to the Nova music festival to save lives when he encountered dozens of terrorists at the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim. He fought a heroic battle, saving the lives of the kibbutz members. Since then he has been known as ‘Rani, the Shield of Alumim.’ During the battle, he was abducted to Gaza, where he is still held today.”
So reads the sign placed outside the entrance to Kibbutz Alumim in memory of Ran Gvili.
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Avi Braverman, Eyal Rhein and Ronit Weinstein at the site where he was wounded and taken hostage
(Photo: Herzl Yosef)
Gvili was abducted only a few hundred feet from the kibbutz fence, at the spot where the sign now stands. Members of the kibbutz, whom Gvili prevented the terrorists from reaching, honor his bravery. “We are here thanks to Ran. Thanks to Ran and the other fighters who rushed to the Gaza border region, we are alive,” said Ronit Weinstein, head of the kibbutz’s memorial committee.
Weinstein, along with the kibbutz security coordinator, Eyal Rhein, and a member of the alert squad, Avi Braverman, visited the place where Gvili fought the terrorists, was wounded and abducted to Gaza — a thicket of brush on the edge of Route 232, which became a killing zone on Oct. 7. They look around, scan the area and try to understand what happened in those moments. “Calling him the ‘Shield of Alumim’ is not a cliché,” Braverman said. “Ran physically blocked the terrorists from getting in. In this area we found 14 bodies of terrorists.”
Residents of Alumim deeply appreciate the fighters who risked their lives defending the area and make a point of staying in touch with their families. “It’s important for us to be in contact with the families of the fallen,” said Rhein, the security coordinator, who also fought that Saturday. “We meet with them. Some come here, whether to visit the place where their children were killed or to visit the kibbutz. Beyond the alert squad, we remember and honor all the good people who fought and protected us. They are all the ‘Shields of Alumim.’”
To show their appreciation for those who fell defending the kibbutz, residents decided to establish memorial sites. “We decided to build a corner in the kibbutz right next to the fence, facing Route 232, where the brutal battle took place,” Weinstein said.
Two large stones have already been placed — one to bear Gvili’s name and the other the names of brothers Noam and Yishay Slotki of Be'er Sheva, who rushed to fight and were killed in the battle at the Alumim junction. Seating benches are also planned. Two other fighters who fell defending the kibbutz — Capt. Etai Cohen of the Yahalom engineering unit and Chief Warrant Officer Ido Rosenthal of the Shaldag commando unit — have already been commemorated elsewhere on the kibbutz.
About 100 Hamas terrorists carried out the Oct. 7 massacre in the area the IDF designates as the “Alumim sector,” inside and around the kibbutz. Braverman, who serves on both the community’s emergency team and in the command center, watched the events unfold through the kibbutz’s security cameras.
“The Gaza border region was overrun. There’s no other way to say it,” Braverman said. “The Gvili family is a noble family. Ran is the last Israeli in captivity, and God forbid he becomes another Hadar Goldin. His mother, Talik, says, ‘It’s obvious to us he’s always the first to go and the last to return. That’s Ran.’ We hope he comes back soon. Whenever it is, we’ll be at the funeral and the shiva. We were at the first shiva the family held after they received notification of his death. We want very much to stay connected with them. We honor him for protecting our children with his own body.”
Weinstein added: “The least we can do is commemorate the bravery of those who fought here. Ran came here two days before surgery, injured, and told his family that as long as he could lift his arm to fire — he was going to fight.”