Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the parents of former hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists during his time in captivity, responded to the identification of Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, who was returned to Israel Monday.
Gvili, a Yasam fighter, was killed during the October 7 massacre while defending Israel and his body was taken captive to Gaza. On Monday, Israeli forces identified his body and brought his remains home for burial.
In a video shared on social media, Rachel and Jon marked the number of days that hostages taken on October 7 were held captive in Gaza - one final time.
"We are sending all of our thoughts right now to the Gvilli family that Ron is being brought home for proper burial," they said, adding that they were "looking forward to tomorrow morning for the first time in 844 days not having to put masking tape over our hearts."
"Our thoughts are with you, Gvilli family," they concluded.
Rachel and Jon were the first to introduce the masking tape numbers, but the idea soon spread throughout the world, with Israelis, Jews, and allies writing the number of days hostages were held in marker on masking tape, and placing the strip of tape on their shirts as a reminder to those around them.
Among those who adopted the idea was SAR Academy in New York, where students wrote the number of days on masking tape each morning, as an important educational initiative aiming to connect the students with their brethren in Israel.