‘Until the last hostage’: Families press for return of final two bodies in Hamas captivity before initiating phase 2 of ceasefire plan

Since the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, hundreds and even thousands of protesters – including family members, friends, and Israelis showing solidarity with the hostages – have gathered faithfully every week for over two years. The Hostages Families Forum has scaled back its activities and is now even considering whether the weekly protests should continue, as Israel awaits the release of the final two hostages from Gaza: Ran Gvili and Sudthisak Rinthalak.

Ran Gvili, a police officer, was killed while fighting against the Hamas terrorist invasion of  Kibbutz Alumim; and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak was killed in Kibbutz Be’eri, where he had been employed in agricultural work.

Ran’s father, Itzik Gvili, spoke to the crowd of hundreds amid chants of “Until the last hostage” and “It’s not right nor left, the hostages are above all else,” insisting that there can be “no next phase” to the current Gaza ceasefire and “no ‘day after’ in Gaza” until Hamas returns the final two bodies.

“Hamas says it’s looking” for the bodies, Gvili said, “but we don’t see any progress. They’re messing with us, and it has to stop, now.”

Gvili recounted how “Ran and his fellow officers rushed out to confront the invading Palestinian terrorists, fighting ‘shoulder to shoulder, as one, out of mutual accountability and unity,’” and he emphasized that “they didn’t stop to check your background or where you’re from – they valiantly protected anyone who needed help.”

“That was their spirit, and that’s the heritage they leave us,” said Gvili. “Now the goal is to bring our Rani back home,” he said. “Enough with the pain and open wounds – we want to get off this rollercoaster.”

Jon Polin, father of murdered Israeli hostage, Hersch Goldberg-Polin, also spoke to the crowd in Tel Aviv Saturday night.

He pointed out that in next week’s Torah portion, Jacob wrestles with an angel who asks for his name, and he replies, ‘Jacob’ – a stark contrast to the time he deceived his father, Isaac, by posing as his brother Esau.

“This time, Jacob owns who he is, and he faces the dishonesty of his past,” said Polin.

“Acknowledging our mistakes, speaking the truth – it can be hard. It requires courage and moral strength,” but only in so doing “can we heal our divisions and fulfill the full, tremendous potential of the people of Israel,” he added.

Last week, the Israeli government voted to set up its own commission of inquiry, arguing that a statutory state commission would lack broad public support, since its members would be chosen by the Supreme Court president – whom the government considers an adversary and the head of a judiciary it seeks to weaken.

The government maintains that the new commission will aim to garner as much public backing as possible, even though polls consistently show strong support for a state commission.

While the emotional appeals of family members and friends have garnered much support and understanding from the community, those wielding political power are not wanting to delay the forward movement of the ceasefire deal.

According to the Times of Israel, in an interview on the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed podcast, Majed al-Ansari – Advisor to the Prime Minister of Qatar and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – described the issue of the two remaining bodies potentially delaying the next phase of the agreement as “the most important” matter that needs to be addressed immediately.

“We don’t believe Israel should be allowed to obstruct the implementation of the agreement over these two bodies. At the same time, of course, the Palestinian side is working to retrieve the bodies and preempt any Israeli pretexts,” he said.

With the fragile ceasefire in place, political actors worldwide are watching closely as the next phase begins to take shape, aiming toward the long-term goal of lasting peace.

“There are significant challenges in reaching this stage of truce, but the focus now is on maintaining it long enough to reach a political solution in which all parties in the region, along with the international community and the United States, work together to make this plan a success and end the war.”

Ansari maintains that any potential normalization Ansari has emphasized that any possible normalization between Doha and Israel would take place solely as part of a resolution to the Palestinian issue.

The initial phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan served as the foundation for the ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 9.

In the next stage, Israel is expected to pull back further from the Yellow Line, while a transitional authority is set up to govern Gaza. This phase also envisions the deployment of a multinational security force to replace the Israeli military, the disarmament of Hamas, and the commencement of reconstruction efforts.