Israel to hold funeral for last recovered Israeli captive from Gaza
The remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli captive recovered from Gaza, are set to be buried today in Gvili’s hometown of Meitar in southern Israel.
Israel’s police are holding a pre-funeral ceremony for Gvili, who was a police officer, at the Shura military base in central Israel, The Times of Israel reported.
The funeral will begin at 12:30pm (10:30 GMT), it said. Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog are expected to give eulogies.
People wave flags as the funeral convoy of the last captive retrieved from Gaza, Ran Gvili, makes its way through Ramla, Israel, on Wednesday
President calls captive’s return ‘momentous moment’ for Israel
Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke at the funeral of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli captive to be returned from Gaza.
The retrieval of Gvili’s body marks “a momentous moment” for all of Israel that can allow the nation to start to heal, Herzog was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.
Addressing Gvili’s family, Herzog said: “An entire nation looks upon you today … and knows through your path and through Ran’s path we must rise from this terrible pain.”
In Gaza, meanwhile, 10,000 Palestinian bodies are believed to lie buried beneath the rubble of vast war destruction, unable to be retrieved, leaving families without answers and proper burial rites.
Netanyahu says Israel to ‘disarm Hamas’
Prime Minister Netanyahu has spoken at the funeral of Israeli captive Ran Gvili, the last to be recovered from Gaza.
“We are determined to complete our missions: to disarm Hamas and demilitarise Gaza, and we will succeed,” said the Israeli PM. “Let our enemies know that anyone who raises a hand against Israel will pay an exorbitant price.”
