The funeral of police officer and Border Police fighter Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is scheduled to take place Wednesday, after his body was recovered from the Gaza Strip following 843 days, marking the completion of the return of all hostages and remains taken during the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023.
Gvili was killed in combat during the attack and his body was taken into Gaza, where it remained until it was recovered Tuesday in a complex military operation dubbed Operation Courageous Heart.
The funeral procession for the last hostage whose remains were held in Gaza is set to depart from the Shura military cemetery near Ramla and travel to the southern community of Meitar, where Gvili will be laid to rest. President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to deliver eulogies at the central memorial ceremony.
Extensive preparations have been made for the state funeral, including traffic closures and a large escort. The main eulogies are scheduled to be held near the community sports center in Meitar, followed by burial at the local cemetery in a closed ceremony attended by family members and invited guests only.
Heavy traffic is expected along Highway 60 leading to Meitar, with vehicle access restricted to residents and authorized vehicles. Attendance at the memorial ceremony will be capped at about 2,000 people for safety reasons.
Gvili’s body was located in a Palestinian cemetery in eastern Gaza City. Forces involved in Operation Courageous Heart examined about 250 bodies before identifying him, using the Border Police uniform and shoes he wore when he was killed near Kibbutz Alumim.
Gvili served in the Negev unit of the Border Police. On Oct. 7, despite being injured and awaiting surgery for a broken shoulder following a motorcycle accident, he went into combat and helped rescue dozens of people fleeing the Nova music festival near Re’im before he was killed. His body was abducted from the area near Kibbutz Alumim.
Operation Courageous Heart
(Video: IDF)
“He was the first to go out and the last to return. Our hero,” his mother, Tali Gvili, said after his identification was confirmed.
Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the return of all hostages and remains taken during the Oct. 7 attack had been completed. Speaking alongside the government’s coordinator for captives and missing persons, retired Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch, Netanyahu said the effort combined military and diplomatic pressure.
Hirsch said the war began with about 3,200 missing persons and 255 hostages. Of those, 188 were returned alive and 87 were returned dead. “This was the hardest mission of my life,” he said.
Later Tuesday, hundreds gathered at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv for a symbolic ceremony marking Gvili’s return and the first time since 2014 that no hostages are held in Gaza. A digital clock counting the time since the Oct. 7 attack was stopped at 843 days, 12 hours, 5 minutes and 59 seconds.