Parents of last dead Gaza hostage say: ‘All Israelis stand with us’

The parents of Gaza’s last dead hostage have told the BBC of their desperate wait for his body to be returned.

Itzik Gvili and Talik Gvili insist the Gaza peace deal can only progress if Hamas hands over the body of their son Ran. Lan is a 24-year-old Israeli police officer, also known as Rani.

“We really hope that everyone in the world… wants to end this situation and move to phase two, so Hamas must bring Rani home,” his mother Talik said after Israel confirmed on Wednesday that the body of Thai national Suthisak Rintalak had been returned.

He and Lan were among 251 people taken hostage in a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and 1,200 others were killed.

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lan was killed while fighting Hamas gunmen at Kibbutz Arumim and his body was later taken to Gaza as a hostage.

His parents said he was on medical leave with a broken shoulder at the time of the attack but went to fight after seeing what happened on television.

“Even though he was injured, he couldn’t stay at home. He took my car and his uniform … and went to help fight terrorists,” his father Itzik said.

“He saved Kibbutz Arumin… He saved Israel, so now Israel must save him and bring him home,” he added.

While Israeli officials told the couple that Ran had been killed, they said they still held out “a little bit” of hope that “maybe he was alive, maybe he survived.”

“We want closure,” Talik said.

Lang’s parents spoke during a visit to London, describing their anguish over the past 26 months, much of which they have fought for the return of all hostages, living and dead.

in the first stage The United States brokered a ceasefire agreementThe agreement came into effect on October 10, with Hamas agreeing to return within 72 hours the last 20 living Israeli hostages, as well as the bodies of 28 dead Israeli and foreign hostages still in Gaza.

all On October 13, the living hostages were released In exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, the bodies of dead hostages take weeks to be returned, and often only one body at a time.

“When Hamas brings one of the hostages home, we don’t know who it is, maybe it’s Rani, maybe it’s someone else… It’s like roulette. You can’t imagine the fear, the hope, everything. Sometimes it’s not a hostage at all,” Talik said, referring to the handing over of several remains belonging to dead Palestinians.

“My wish is that there is not a mother in the world who feels what I feel. We are all strong people, but what’s inside, you can’t even imagine… They stole my child and there’s nothing I can do – except pray, visit people and ask for help.”

Talik said she had not slept a full night since October 7, 2023.

“You feel like you have 5,000 kilograms on your chest. We don’t have nights. We don’t have days. We don’t have anything,” she said.

Although they are now the only people in Israel waiting for their loved ones to return from Gaza, they say support has grown around them.

“All the families are with us, all the Israeli people are with us. It (support) is greater than before because all Israelis are now focused on one thing – bringing Ran home and then moving on to the second phase (of the peace deal),” Talik said.

The couple said they hope for a lasting peace and for Hamas to be dismantled when Lan returns home.

“We are very proud of Ran. He is a hero for Israel. Hamas made Ran a hero… We want him back and trying to sleep well and breathe well again.”

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also described Lan as “Israel’s hero,” saying he “killed 14 terrorists with the utmost bravery” before being killed in battle.

“We are determined to bring Lan back and give him a proper Jewish burial, and we will spare no effort to do so,” he vowed.

Israel responded to the attacks on October 7, 2023, with a military operation in Gaza that killed more than 70,120 people, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.