Photo: Police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, confirmed on January 31, 2024, to have been killed by invading Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, with his body abducted to Gaza. (Israel Police)

Jan. 26, 2026

We offer gratitude to God and Israel’s defense and security forces that Ran Gvili, z”l, has returned to Israel for proper burial, nearly 850 days after he was killed while defending Kibbutz Alumim during Hamas’ October 7 invasion and massacre. 

With Ran’s return, no Israelis — living or deceased — are being held by terror groups in Gaza for the first time since 2014. Israelis, Jews, and our allies around the world worked tirelessly and prayed intensely for this moment.  
 
For Ran’s loved ones, who held onto the faintest hope that he might still be alive, receiving his body allows for a burial, shiva, and a transition in their grief. For the state of Israel and the broader Jewish people, it enables this chapter of the war that began on October 7th to finally close, as we look toward an uncertain future across the Middle East. 

Our ancestors wisely understood that grief does not end with burial. Grief evolves alongside healing.  May Ran’s memory, and all those killed on and since Oct. 7, be for a blessing.