JERUSALEM, Israel – As the Middle East braces for war with Iran, a war in Syria is raging, and in Israel, the body of the last Israeli hostage was finally recovered in Gaza on the day before today’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Israeli troops located the body of the last hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, in a Gaza cemetery, and returned it to Israel on Monday after 843 days. It marks the first time since 2014 that there are no Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Gvilie was on leave on October 7th, 2023, because of an injured shoulder. He went out to fight anyway and died defending Kibbutz Alumim from the Hamas attack. His body was kidnapped into Gaza.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog released a short video showing him and his wife removing their yellow pins, the national symbol of the hostages.
At his residence, Herzog spoke about recovering Gvili.
He declared, “An entire nation is breathing an enormous sigh of relief tonight, as all of our hearts are with Ran’s family, especially his parents, Talik and Itzik, who fought heroically and with remarkable courage to bring their son home. Michal and I just had a very moving conversation with Talik and Itzik, and our hearts and the hearts of the entire nation of Israel go out to them.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said it was a privilege to remove his pin.
“I have said on many occasions, since I was posted here as ambassador, that the happiest day of my tenure was going to be the day when I could remove this pin, because it meant that the last hostage would have been freed and home with his family,” Huckabee noted.
Speaking outside their home, the family thanked the Israel Defense Forces, the police, the government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the people of Israel for standing with them.
Gvili’s sister Shira stated, “We want to thank President Trump, (Steve) Witkoff, (Jared) Kushner, and all the people behind the scenes. We are so grateful for bring(ing) Ran home and your success. Mr. President, when you looked in our eyes, and you said, ‘We’re gonna bring Ran home,’ and you promised us, and we believe you, and we’re thankful for this. And I want to thank everyone who helped us.”
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Meanwhile, in northeastern Syria, tensions are high despite a ceasefire agreement between the forces of President Ahmed al-Shaara and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Fighting has broken out across the region, and Russia evacuated its troops from a nearby airbase, signaling more trouble on the way.
CBN News military correspondent Chuck Holton is in the city of Qamishli and observed that many are fleeing the surrounding areas to come into the city.
He reported, “Here in the northern Syrian city of Qamishli, this is a city that’s been under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces, of the Kurds, for more than ten years. But now this city of 180,000 people has another 200,000 people who have shown up here as refugees from the surrounding area. That’s because (al-Sharaa’s) forces are trying to push the SDF and the Kurds out of this region altogether, and so they have been encircling the city, with their forces, even though there’s supposed to be a ceasefire.”
Holton continued, “We heard fighting (al-Sharaa’s) forces are able to cut off the city, then that will cut off all means of resupply and escape.”
Holton spoke to residents about the situation.
One named Khabat said, “And now we are suffering a lot to provide the needs of these (displaced) people here, and, to protect our area. We are here under attack. We don’t know when this attack will end, even in a ceasefire. But still, the attack is going on.”
One Kurdish resident of Qamishli said it was the worst and most challenging time they have experienced since 2011, and their fight is against the terror group ISIS.
He insisted, “Because this is not anymore about, you know, two parties who are in conflict now. This is more likely about ethnic groups that are getting into a dispute and a conflict.”
He added, “And this is the worst nightmare that we couldn’t even imagine. And I think if this is going to grow, it will have a very bad, and a catastrophic, I would say, you know, impact on the whole region.”
The Kurdish resident says Americans are not getting the story from the media.
“Seeing the president say, you know, that they got paid a lot of money is a very, very insulting to the Kurds. People sacrificed over 20,000 to save the world, because this is not about the money when it comes to giving, you know, such sacrifices.”
All this as the International community marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu told the second annual International conference on Combatting antisemitism that hatred of Jews is most prevalent on social media.
He announced, “This is the new battlefield, and this is where we must counter with our own weapons. We’re late in the game, but we will win this battle, too, as we won on the battlefield.”
