What the final Israeli hostage’s return really means

It’s over: More than two years after Hamas monsters staged a horrific invasion of Israel, slaughtering more than 1,200 and kidnapping 251, the remains of the last hostage in Gaza, Police Officer Ran Gvili, are now back in Israel.

That closes an ugly chapter that brought deep pain to the state of Israel, Jews around the world and indeed anyone with a heart.

For the first time in 12 years, not a single Israeli hostage — dead or alive — remains in Gaza.

It’s wonderful news, and much of the credit goes to President Donald Trump for forcing the final cease-fire that led to the final hostage release.

But Gvili’s return should also remind everyone what the fighting was all about in the first place — and why the developing peace plans must ensure no such horror can ever be repeated.

On that nightmarish day, Oct. 7, 2023, barbaric terrorists swarmed in by land, sea and air in a coordinated, unprovoked attack — with GoPros to film their savagery and instantly share it with the world.

The atrocities — babies burned alive, women raped, people beheaded in front of loved ones — exposed Israel’s enemies as wholly unfit for the civilized world.

Israel soon responded in a campaign to rescue the captives and ensure Hamas could never do this again, ideally by wiping out the barbarians, root and branch.

Every sane nation should’ve cheered that mission — yet many instead compounded the pain, turning on Israel as antisemitism surged around the globe.

Yet ending Hamas’ existence should still be the guiding principle as Trump and his Board of Peace work to secure a true, long-term end to hostilities in Gazans, and maybe beyond.

At the least, the terrorists must lose their arms and any political or administrative power.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump agreed to give Hamas until March to lay down its weapons, with the prez threatening “hell to pay” if it didn’t.

Yet several of its leaders have vowed never to disarm, and the group has been jockeying for some continued political role in Gaza.

Gvili’s return ends a chapter, but clearly the full story of the Oct. 7 massacre won’t truly be over until, as Bibi has put it, Gaza can never again threaten Israel.

Pray that day comes soon.