Tamir Nimrodi, 18, a soldier taken hostage from his base near the Erez Crossing on October 7, 2023, was identified as one of the bodies returned by Hamas overnight, his family said Wednesday morning, ending a two-year saga in which the fates of some of the victims remained unknown.

Until now, Nimrodi’s death had not been confirmed but Israel had expressed “grave concern” about him. The return of his body was the first confirmation that he was killed in captivity.

His body was returned to Israel Tuesday night alongside the bodies of Eitan Levy and Uriel Baruch. Hamas also handed over a fourth body, which was later found to not belong to any of the hostages.

Alon Nimrodi, Tamir’s father, told Channel 12 in an emotional interview Wednesday that he felt “fortunate” to have final confirmation of his son’s death, and emphasized that the “struggle” was not over until all 21 remaining deceased hostages still held by Hamas are brought back to Israel.

“This is the moment that we so feared, the moment I refused to believe would come,” he said “The whole time, I said if there was a 0.01% chance, I would burn the world for Tamir to come home alive and well, but........

© The Times of Israel