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‘Years of joy and light, extinguished’: Ohad Yahalomi laid to rest after return from Gaza

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yesterday

Hundreds of people took part in a funeral procession Wednesday for murdered hostage Ohad Yahalomi, whose body was returned by the Hamas terror group from Gaza last week.

At the burial, his wife Batsheva spoke of “16 years together — a source of strength, growth, and love, years of joy and light, now extinguished. And I walk in the shadows, groping, trying to find my way forward without you.”

The procession began in Rishon Lezion and made its way to Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Yahalomi was kidnapped on October 7, 2023. The family had encouraged the public to line the streets of the route with Israeli flags to pay their respects to Yahalomi, who was returned along with fellow slain hostages Itzik Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur, and Tsahi Idan as part of the hostage-ceasefire deal.

The funeral was held at the kibbutz.

Yahalomi, his wife and their three children were all taken hostage from their home by terrorists. Batsheva managed to escape her captors along with two daughters, aged 10 and 2.

Ohad was taken to Gaza along with 12-year-old Eitan, who was eventually released during the November 2023 ceasefire.

Yahalomi was 49 when he was kidnapped and turned 50 in April 2024. He was killed at some point in the past 10 months.

Batsheva said Wednesday, “We........

© The Times of Israel