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The Last Hostage Returned: Israel's Refusal to Leave Anyone Behind
(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Editorial - For Israel - and for Jews far beyond its borders, including here in Britain - the recovery of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage, is the closing of a wound that had been open since Oct. 7. Israel's commitment to bringing every hostage home, living or dead, was never just a slogan. It was part of the national creed. Gvili's body was buried under a Muslim name in a Gaza cemetery. In Israel's determination to bring him home, soldiers were required to work through more than 350 bodies before identification was possible. No modern state goes to such lengths to retrieve its fallen. Israelis do not see one another merely as fellow citizens, but as members of an extended family, bound by shared fate and history. That bond is the source of Israel's resilience, sustaining commitment, sacrifice and endurance when they are most tested. Israel brought Ran Gvili home because leaving him behind was never an option. That instinct is not a weakness. It is civilizational clarity. And it is why his return was a reaffirmation of the values that distinguish Israel from those who fight it.