The long and agonizing wait will come to an end for the family of Master Sergeant Ran Gvili on Wednesday. The police officer who charged into battle on October 7 despite his own injuries makes his final journey home. As his convoy winds its way south from the Shura Camp to the quiet town of Meitar, a nation stands in silent salute to a hero who gave everything.
Video: Ran Gvili's funeral procession / Credit: Moshe Ben Simhon; Hodaya Busheri
Gvili, the defender of Alumim (a kibbutz near the Gaza border). Gvili left his home on October 7 – despite suffering from a shoulder injury – and drove to fight with fierce determination against the Hamas terrorists infiltrating Israel. Following the recovery of his body to Israel in Operation "Brave Heart," Gvili was to be laid to rest in the cemetery of Meitar (a town in southern Israel), the community he called home.
At 6:30 a.m., Gvili's family departed Meitar for the Shura Camp (the IDF Rabbinate base near Ramla), escorted by a police convoy comprising the National Motorcycle Unit of the Traffic Division, along with patrol cars and motorcycles from the Southern District's Sahar Unit.
The formal funeral procession began at Shura Camp at 10:30 a.m, with dozens of police offers standing in salute along the road, with Israeli flags spontaneously displayed by Israelis from all walks of life. The convoy will escort Gvili's casket back to Meitar via Route 431, merging onto Route 6 at the Nesharim Interchange, and continuing south on Route 60.
Both the convoy's journey and the state eulogy ceremony will be broadcast live. The police have invited the public to pay their final respects to Gvili and to stand along the convoy route in support of him and his grieving family.
