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 tramautising periods in its history.
A drone view shows people waving flags as the funeral convoy of the last hostage retrieved from Gaza, Ran Gvili, an off-duty police officer who was killed fighting militants that had infiltrated Israel during the deadly October 7, 2023, makes its way to his funeral, in Ramla, Israel, January 28, 2026. Reuters/Ilan Rosenberg
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 tramautising 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 Palestinians health authorities say Israel kill 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 U.S. 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 where Israel has identified 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 began at 10:30 a.m. (0830 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.
Reporting by Dedi Hayun
Israel is preparing for talks with the Trump administration on a new 10-year security deal, seeking to extend U.S. military support even as Israeli leaders signal they are planning for a future with reduced American cash grants, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Hamas is seeking to incorporate its 10,000 police officers into a new U.S.-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, sources say, a demand likely to be opposed by Israel as the militant group debates whether to surrender its arms.
Israel has recovered the remains of the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, the military said on Monday, fulfilling a key condition of the initial phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.
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