Sawt Falasteen - Israelis bid farewell to hostage in emotional kibbutz funeral

The nature guide was seized during the Palestinian Islamist movement's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, when nearly a quarter of Nir Oz's residents were killed or taken hostage.

"We've lost a formidable person," his friend Yael Lotem told AFP.

"He was a part of our family for many years, he was a part of our lives," said the 64-year-old resident of nearby Gvulot kibbutz while waiting for the funeral procession.

Yahalomi, a French-Israeli national, was 49 when he was abducted. His body was not returned until February 27, in a hostage-prisoner exchange under a ceasefire deal that began on January 19.

More than 100 mourners watched silently as his coffin, wrapped in an Israeli flag, was lowered into the sandy soil of the kibbutz cemetery.

Tulips and sunflowers covered his grave in a mound as high as the mourners' thighs.

- Wounded while fighting -

During the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, the Yahalomi family tried to take shelter in their home's safe room, according to his widow Bat-Sheva Yahalomi.

The door wouldn’t lock, so Yahalomi stood in front of it with a pistol. He was wounded in a shootout before being abducted. Their family home remains riddled with bullet holes from the attack.

His wife and their three children were also taken hostage but attempted to escape. Only the mother and two daughters managed to flee, leaving behind 12-year-old Eitan. He was released in November 2023 during a brief truce.

Ohad Yahalomi was declared dead in January 2024 in a video released by a Hamas-affiliated group. The Israeli army confirmed his death only after his body was returned.

A nature enthusiast, Yahalomi worked for the Israel Parks and Nature Authority. An expert on scorpions, he had even written a guide on them.

"I find it very hard that the country still hasn't managed to bring all the hostages home," said his friend Lotem.

"It was possible to bring them all back alive, but that didn't happen," added Lotem, whose daughter and grandchildren were also taken hostage on October 7 but released after 51 days in captivity.

- 'Magical caracter' -

Moshe Lotem, 69, struggled to hold back tears as he spoke about the man he considered "like a son".

"Ohad was someone very special. He didn't distinguish between people; he helped anyone he could," he said.

"When I learned he had been taken, I was relieved, because I thought he would be able to look after my daughter and grandchildren.

"I was sure that with his magical personality, he could soften Hamas a little, show them human kindness," he added. "I couldn't believe he wouldn't come back."

Yael Mitzafon, 51, another family friend, also believed he would survive.

"I felt like he could come back alive. That didn't happen, and I was deeply shocked," she said.

"It's important for his family to see their friends present here and elsewhere," she added.

She thought about her own son, the same age as Eitan Yahalomi.

"And if it had been the other way around? It's really hard."

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST