Family of final Israeli hostage brought home heartbreakingly hail his heroism: ‘I won’t leave my friends to fight alone’
Israeli Police Special Forces officer Gvili, who left home despite orders to stay off duty while recovering from a broken collarbone, was fatally wounded during the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack after rushing to help residents of Kibbutz Alumim. His body, long feared lost after he was taken into Gaza, was identified 843 days later following a large-scale exhumation and identification operation in a northern Gaza cemetery that tested about 250 bodies using dental and fingerprint records. At a military ceremony returning his remains, his father Itzik emotionally rebuked and praised his son—“You dummy…what did you tell me?”—while his mother Talik thanked U.S. figures including President Trump, Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff and the people of Israel for helping bring him home. Israeli Police Commissioner Daniel Levy called Gvili the “DNA” of the force and expressed sorrow that he could not be returned alive; the officer will be buried Wednesday. Ran Gvili, 24, identified as the last Israeli hostage whose remains were recovered from Gaza, was hailed as a hero by his family after his body was returned on Monday. The article fragment says he was killed during the Oct. (text cut off). If you provide the rest of the article I can produce a fuller summary.