The mother of the last hostage in Gaza says Israel will not heal until he or his remains are brought home, and that the next phase of a peace plan should not proceed until he is back.

Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili was one of 251 hostages taken during the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Israeli authorities declared Gvili dead in January 2024, but his body has not been recovered and his family is clinging to the faint hope that he is still alive.

“We’re at the last stretch and we have to be strong, for Rani, for us, and for Israel. Without Rani, our country can’t heal,” his mother, Talik Gvili, told Reuters.

Posters of Gvili line the streets of Meitar, his hometown in southern Israel.

When Hamas attacked, he was recovering at home from a broken collarbone. He quickly put on his uniform and joined the fight in nearby Kibbutz Alumim.

Gvili, who was 24 at the time, was badly wounded and Israeli authorities said he did not survive for long after being taken to Gaza, his mother said.

“We want to feel him, we want to feel some tiny doubt [that he died],” his mother said, before adding: “It might just be........

© The Times of Israel