Demonstrators gathered at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv in a collective call for the return of Ran Gvili, the only hostage whose remains are still held in the Gaza Strip.
"This is the first Shabbat that Rani has remained alone there,” said the slain hostage’s sister, Shira, using her brother’s nickname. “I ask again to reiterate the demand not to proceed to Phase 2 until Rani is home. To compel Hamas to return Rani to the country he loved so much. Continue to stand with us, think of my Rani; 254 hostages have been returned from Gaza, and our Rani is still there.”
Shira said Gvili is the last hostage remaining in Gaza, but he was always the first to answer the call.
“He’s always been first. First to help, first to assist, first to save. Rani was the first to put on the blue uniform and run straight into hell,” she said at the rally on Friday.
“We’ve done everything we could over these two years. Gone to countless meetings, given interviews, shouted, asked, pleaded, and prayed. Our faith in you, in our people, in the army, in the police, in good people, alongside faith itself, keeps us above water. Faith gives us air to breathe.”
Earlier this week, the Gvili family had called for weekly rallies demanding his return to be moved to Fridays from Saturdays, ahead of Shabbat services, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
'Nothing like sibling love'
“There’s nothing like sibling love, there’s nothing like the little moments of connection at home, and each of you knows what brotherly or sisterly love is,” Gvili’s sister said.
"I ask that you continue to be by our side, and when you sit down at the Shabbat table tonight, raise a toast to him. When you open the book in the synagogue, send a prayer for him, when you open a door, or go for a run, play the guitar, or laugh with your siblings, think about him for one moment. Until the last hostage.”