Itzik Gvili, father of deceased hostage and Yassam officer Ran Gvili, has said that no one knows where his son's body is located.
In a Thursday morning interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Gvili said that even the Gaza terror groups are unsure where his son's body is, and expressed concern that perhaps his body would not be returned at all.
“We pray this won’t become another Ron Arad, another [Hadar] Goldin, and that this doesn’t drag on for many, many years,” Gvili said. “We move forward because we must. Hamas claims they’re searching, but there’s no sign of progress. They’re toying with us, playing games and leading us on.”
Gvili added that the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is expected to shut down soon.
“As I understand it, the Hostages Forum will be closed, since there’s no justification to maintain the whole apparatus for one hostage,” he noted.
About a year ago, he said, he requested that his son’s name be inscribed in a Torah scroll being written by survivors of the Nova music festival massacre.
“Two days after the scroll was completed, the deal was signed and all living hostages were returned. As far as I’m concerned, until I receive Rani - alive or dead - he is alive. I have nothing else to hope for,” he said.
He concluded the interview by emphasizing: “Rani is nothing less than a hero of Israel. He went out to save others, he wasn’t abducted from [the] Nova [festival] or from one of the homes. He left the house, injured, and went to rescue an entire country. Just as Rani didn’t forget the State of Israel that day, I don’t want the country to forget him.”