MEITAR, Israel, Jan 28 (Reuters) – 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, Editing by Rami Ayyub and Timothy Heritage)
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