Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara met with Itzik and Talik Gvili "immediately upon landing" in the US, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Monday.
Itzik and Talik, the parents of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, the final hostage whose remains are still being held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, travelled to Florida and will meet US President Donald Trump during their visit.
During the meeting, which took place ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Netanyahu affirmed that every effort is being made to return their "heroic son home for a Jewish burial."
In addition, Sara Netanyahu offered her support to the Gvilis.
Gvilis meet with Rubio, Witkoff, Kushner
The Gvili family also met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Trump administration's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and special advisor Jared Kushner in Florida.
During the meeting, the three US officials affirmed that bringing Gvili's remains back to Israel is very important to Trump and that significant actions are being taken to bring him back.
The family commented that the meeting was "very positive, and it is clear that along with Netanyahu, the Trump administration's team will do everything to bring Ran's remains back as soon as possible."
Smotrich: Israel cannot advance to Phase II until Gvili's remains return
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich released a statement to Netanyahu, telling him that he believes Israel cannot advance to Phase II of Trump's Gaza deal until Gvili's remains are returned.
“The State of Israel will not be able to move to the next stage, neither politically nor security-wise, as long as the Gvili's remains have not been returned to an Israeli grave, and as long as the terrorist organization Hamas continues to exist, to arm itself, and to dream of our destruction,” said Smotrich.
Mother of hostage knows chances of remains returning is 'miniscule'
Last week, Talik was interviewed by Maariv before departing with Netanyahu to meet with Trump.
"We know the chances are so small, so minuscule, but we fight for this belief because it’s what keeps us going in this terrible period," Talik Gvili had told Maariv. "We have 0.0001% hope that maybe Rani is alive. So yes, it’s crazy, but compared to the alternative, it’s something."
"The doctor came out and told my husband and me, 'We inserted plates and screws into your son, and he’ll need long-term rehabilitation. There’s no chance he’ll be able to return to combat,'" she recounted. "And we were happy. Because in some way, Rani was always the first to jump in, the first hero to volunteer for every mission. We thought, now he’ll move to a desk job, and we’ll finally be able to sleep at night."
Sherry Makover-Balikov and Gil Tanenbaum/TPS contributed to this report.