On Monday, President Trump announced that the body of the last remaining hostage in Gaza had been identified and brought back home to Israel for a proper burial. The final returned hostage has been identified as Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, while defending civilians from Hamas militants. Ran Givili’s return is a moment that demands pause—not for celebration alone, but for reflection and prayer.
After months of anguish, uncertainty, and dread, all hostages are finally home, and this moment is nothing less than a sense of life returned to all who endured this unrelenting nightmare. For countless others—families of hostages past and present, survivors of violence, and communities living with the daily weight of conflict—it is a rare exhale after holding their breath for far too long.
The release of Givili’s body serves as a stark reminder of what Hamas did on October 7th when it deliberately captured and destroyed the lives of so many innocent hostages. Hamas weaponized fear, hope, and silence, and forced families into a cruel limbo. That is why the freedom of this final hostage matters so deeply.
Each one of these hostages is not a symbol, bargaining chip, nor an abstraction—but a human being made in God’s image with a name and countless loved ones who have waited in agony for their return. Their freedom does not erase trauma or undo loss, but it gives families closure and a better way forward, even through ongoing struggles.
The release also carries symbolic weight beyond the individual. It does not resolve the deeper, ongoing conflict nor does it erase the grief of those who have lost loved ones. However, it draws a moral line that should never be blurred. The captivity and subsequent suffering of every hostage must never be normalized nor justified.
For the families who waited, this moment follows months of relentless uncertainty—days marked by unanswered questions and nights filled with fear. Many were forced into advocacy roles they never sought, carrying the burden of keeping global attention focused on those who could not speak for themselves.
Yet this is not a moment for triumphalism. Acknowledging this release does not diminish the suffering that continues, nor does it absolve the violence that made such captivity possible in the first place. Therefore, Concerned Women for America continues to pray for the hostages and their families while also giving thanks to the Trump Administration for its relentless efforts to allow Israel to begin to truly heal from the tragedies endured on October 7th, 2023.
The release of the final hostage is not the end of the story, and many wounds remain open. But this is a chapter worth pausing over. John 1:5 says, “Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” In a time of profound darkness, we pause to recognize that, for the first time in 12 years, there are no hostages in Gaza. This is our reminder that God’s light will always break through the darkness. It is our responsibility to ensure it does not fade into indifference.
