The final hostage pin was removed from St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili's memorial brick in the National Memorial Hall for Israel's Fallen on Mount Herzl, the Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The pin was removed in a solemn ceremony organized by the Families, Commemoration and Heritage Division at the ministry, following the return of Gvili's body to Israel from Gaza.
Present at the ceremony were members of Gvili's family, as well as representatives of the Israel Police and the IDF.
"The last hostage pin was removed from here, the Memorial Hall, but the memories of the sons and daughters and the story of their bravery will forever remain among the bricks of this hall, etched in stone and in the heart of the entire nation," Herzl Shmuel, head of the Unit for Commemoration of Soldiers, said during the ceremony.
"And with them lies the responsibility of an entire nation, an entire state, to remember, to commemorate, and to tell the stories of all those who have fallen, from generation to generation."
IDF returns Gvili's remains after over two years in Gaza
The IDF found the remains of the last Israeli hostage from the October 7 invasion last week at al-Batesh cemetery in the Shejaia-Daraj-Tuffah part of northern Gaza. His funeral was held in his hometown of Meitar.
"Today, after 844 days - more than 20,250 hours, over 1,215,000 minutes, and more than 72,920,000 seconds- we can finally bring the counter to an end," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said following Gvili's return, after stopping the clock in Hostages Square.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.