{"id":258362,"date":"2026-01-26T13:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T13:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/258362\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T13:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T13:48:11","slug":"final-hostage-ran-gvilis-mother-says-she-trusts-israel-to-bring-her-son-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/258362\/","title":{"rendered":"Final hostage Ran Gvili’s mother says she trusts Israel to bring her son home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday afternoon, following the weekly gathering at Tel Aviv\u2019s Hostages Square calling for the release of hostage Ran Gvili\u2019s body, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stopped his car across the square at the entrance to the Kirya, Israel\u2019s military headquarters, to offer his support<\/a> to Itzik and Talik Gvili.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s room for optimism,\u201d Zamir told the Gvilis.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re relying on you,\u201d said Talik Gvili, Ran\u2019s mother, wearing a T-shirt bearing her son\u2019s image and a yellow piece of tape marked 840, the number of days since Ran was abducted. \u201cWe\u2019re truly relying on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, on Sunday, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office announced that IDF forces were conducting a wide-scale operation to locate Ran\u2019s body at a cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

Ran Gvili was taken hostage by terrorists, along with 250 other people of various nationalities, during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Some 1,200 people were murdered in the onslaught, which sparked the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

All other living and dead hostages have been recovered by Israel or returned in exchanges, the last of which helped seal a fragile but ongoing ceasefire brokered by the United States, which the Trump administration hopes to see progress into its second phase in the immediate future.<\/p>\n

The failure to recover Ran\u2019s remains, however, is a sticking point, as Israel is reluctant to allow the deal to enter the second stage until the Hamas terror group fulfils its commitment to return all of the hostages.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the Gvilis had gathered with former hostages, family members, friends, and supporters for a Kabbalat Shabbat event at the square, calling on the government to avoid moving into phase two of the Gaza deal until Ran was returned home.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should have come back in the same deal; it\u2019s just my luck that I\u2019m here,\u201d said former hostage Segev Kalfon<\/a>, speaking to the crowd of his release in the Gaza deal\u2019s first phase this past October.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFrom left: Talik Gvili, Segev Kalfon, Itzik Gvili, Shira Gvili and Eitan Horn, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on January 23, 2026. (Jessica Steinberg\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

The next day, Saturday, following the arrival of Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the opening of Gaza\u2019s Rafah border crossing, the Gvilis made a public statement, asking why the pressure to move forward with the ceasefire deal is being directed at Israel rather than at Hamas, which is refusing to return the last remaining hostage, their son.<\/p>\n

At home \u2014 and home command \u2014 in Meitar<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone gets it except Witkoff,\u201d said Gvili earlier in the week, after returning from another trip to Florida, this time at the invitation of philanthropist Miriam Adelson, who ferried her on her private jet to the Israeli-American Council\u2019s national summit. \u201cI don\u2019t know what he thinks, even though I\u2019ve spoken to him so many times. He believes that Hamas will do everything it can to find Rani, and we don\u2019t believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gvili was sitting at home in Meitar, having just finished a call with government hostage point man Gal Hirsch; the family receives two to three calls a day with updates.<\/p>\n

She was dressed and fully made up for a day of meetings and interviews, a tall, imposing, pragmatic woman who doesn\u2019t mince words and knows what she wants to say, even after existing in this liminal state for the last two years and three months.<\/p>\n

What the Gvilis believe is that their government, the army, and the security forces are doing everything in their power to bring their son home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a promise from [US President Donald] Trump and our prime minister that they will do everything to get our boy back. It was a very clear message, and we\u2019re waiting for it to happen,\u201d said Gvili.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tTalik Gvili sitting at her home in Meitar on January 20, 2026 (Jessica Steinberg\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in contact with the prime minister,\u201d she said. \u201cHe calls us, and if we have a question, he answers us. I get that there are pressures that I don\u2019t know about; I\u2019m not in that loop. But the Shin Bet, the army, intelligence \u2014 I know they\u2019re doing everything they can to bring him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ran, her middle son, was a member of Yasam, an elite tactical unit of the police. He was awaiting surgery for a broken shoulder on October 7, 2023, when he began hearing about the Hamas invasion in the southern communities, a 50-minute drive from the family home in Meitar, outside Beersheba.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Shin Bet, the army, intelligence \u2014 I know they\u2019re doing everything they can to bring him back\u2019<\/p>\n

He threw on his uniform, hopped on one of his motorcycles, and sped to Kibbutz Alumim, where he battled Hamas terrorists for hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew where he was, he sent a location, he sent a selfie of his injury, and was in touch with his staff, he knew that backup was on the way,\u201d said his mother.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPolice officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.(Courtesy)<\/p>\n

It took a few days until the Gvilis were informed that Ran had been taken captive.<\/p>\n

Only on January 30, 2024, the IDF told the Gvilis that intelligence showed that Ran had been killed and his body abducted to Gaza.<\/p>\n

Even now, however, there remains a shred of hope that he is alive; the family received photos from October 7 showing Ran arriving unconscious at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and he was later reportedly seen in the city\u2019s Zeitoun neighborhood on the back of a motorcycle.<\/p>\n

Gvili said little is known about what happened that day, including whether or not he received medical care for his injuries.<\/p>\n

To this day, the family refers to Ran in the present tense, determined to believe there\u2019s still a chance he\u2019s alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cHope dies last, right?\u201d said Gvili.<\/p>\n

Strategic silence<\/p>\n

Until the announcement that Ran had been killed and taken captive, the family remained quiet, not joining any of the hostages\u2019 families\u2019 public struggle, as it wasn\u2019t safe to speak about a police officer kidnapped to Gaza.<\/p>\n

Gvili, a family law attorney, closed her office, assuming it would be a month or two, maybe three, before her son was home.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour whole life changes,\u201d said Gvili. \u201cIt\u2019s like being in a jail cell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tItzik and Talik Gvili, parents of deceased hostage Ran Gvili, on November 22, 2025, at a Hostages Forum rally. (Paulina Patimer\/Hostages Forum)<\/p>\n

When their son was declared dead by the IDF, the Gvilis began speaking to the press, seeming to align themselves with the Tikvah Forum, a smaller, more hawkish group of hostage families, rather than the larger Hostages Forum, which organized weekly Saturday night rallies in Hostages Square calling for a hostage deal with Hamas rather than further military pressure in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The Gvilis felt strongly that the use of force against Hamas was the only way to bring the hostages home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe as a family felt that the war shouldn\u2019t be stopped, that we couldn\u2019t just call \u2018Peace, peace!\u2019 and stop fighting,\u201d said Gvili. \u201cWe felt that until we hit Hamas hard and showed them who\u2019s boss, there wouldn\u2019t be a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We as a family felt that the war shouldn\u2019t be stopped, that we couldn\u2019t just call \u2018Peace, peace!\u2019 and stop fighting\u2019<\/p>\n

During the first months after October 7, said Gvili, their family was critical of their own government as well, believing that it was too often heeding the Biden administration\u2019s warnings regarding military pressure in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Americans didn\u2019t want war, until the Trump administration came in, and then they were a little easier in terms of keeping up the military pressure,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt and believed that the right thing to do to get to a deal is to hit Hamas hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gvili said she understood the stance of the other hostages\u2019 families, their desire to stop fighting in Gaza to get a deal and get their loved ones home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what they felt was right,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt that if we stopped fighting, we wouldn\u2019t see the hostages again.\u201d<\/p>\n

One man left<\/p>\n

In October, the final 20 living hostages were released, followed by the bodies of 25 deceased captives.<\/p>\n

Throughout November, as the Hostages Forum held weekly rallies for the final remaining hostages, the Gvilis joined the effort, believing that it had been the military pressure in Gaza that led to the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tItzik Gvili, the father of slain hostage Ran Gvili, speaks at Hostages Square, in Tel Aviv, on November 29, 2025. (Uriel Even Sapir\/The Hostages and Missing Families Forum)<\/p>\n

When the body of Thai farm worker Sudthisak Rinthalak<\/a> was returned on December 4, 2025, the final remaining hostage was Gvili.<\/p>\n

The Hostages Forum closed its offices and stopped holding the rallies, lacking further funding, and the Gvilis chose to continue with the Friday afternoon gatherings in Hostages Square, organized by a different kibbutz each week, with a rally in Meitar on Saturday nights.<\/p>\n

Meitar is a community full of Gvili family members. Talik Gvili has lived there since she was 14, and her three siblings also live there with their families, along with her parents. Her husband, Itzik, also has siblings in Meitar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing, said Gvili, \u201cit gives you the feeling that you\u2019re really not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Gvili talks about the rallies, she smiles, amazed at who shows up to offer support.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe Gvilis with former hostages Omri Miran and Eitan Horn and other bereaved family members at the rally in Meitar on January 24, 2026 (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople from all sides come, Haredim and right and left,\u201d she said. \u201cI think people understand that Ran isn\u2019t just our son, but everyone\u2019s son, and there\u2019s a feeling that you want to do something and don\u2019t know what else to do. It does so much good for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent Saturday night, speakers included former hostage Eitan Horn<\/a> and his sister-in-law, Dalia Cushnir, with former hostage Omri Miran<\/a> and his father, Dani Miran, present as well.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think people understand that Ran isn\u2019t just our son, but everyone\u2019s son\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the only ones who get it \u2014 who get the feelings of waiting and the pressure of the waiting, and they\u2019re holding us. That\u2019s what we promised each other down to the last hostage,\u201d said Gvili, adding that Simcha and Ayelet Goldin \u2014 the father and sister of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin<\/a>, who was killed in 2014 and whose body was held by Hamas until this past November \u2014 are a constant source of support.<\/p>\n

The Gvili home in Meitar is a space full of reminders of Ran, from the banners that hang outside to the long wooden coffee table and console that Ran made himself, one of his many hobbies.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPolice officer Sgt. First Class Ran Gvili, confirmed on January 31, 2024, to have been killed by terrorists on October 7, with his body abducted to Gaza (Israel Police)<\/p>\n

The hill visible outside the living room window will soon turn green from the winter rains, said Gvili. It\u2019s the same hill where Ran would often ride his motorcycle, a familiar scene from one of the pictures used for his hostage placard.<\/p>\n

A lifelike, black-and-white image of Ran\u2019s face, open and smiling, created by artist Benzi Brofman, hangs in the kitchen, visible from most places on the first floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t live in a memorial,\u201d said Gvili, \u201cbut he\u2019s part of us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Friday afternoon, following the weekly gathering at Tel Aviv\u2019s Hostages Square calling for the release of hostage Ran…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-258362","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}