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 unfortunately, we got the news this morning.”
Asked whether there was any relief in the definitive news of his son’s fate, Alon said they were feeling a terrible relief at having received Tamir’s body.
“We, like every one of the hostage families, never had the ability to give up or relax for even a single moment,” he continued, adding, “For us, the journey ended in a terrible way — not like I had hoped — but there is a long struggle ahead for the release of 21 other hostages who are in the Gaza Strip, and we must continue to struggle until they all return home.”
He added, “We feel fortunate – which is a terrible thing to say about your own son who was killed in Gaza, your eldest son who was kidnapped – but I mean to say that we are lucky to have received his body back.”
“In a certain sense, there is some relief, because there is now the certainty… there is a certain easing in knowing that our son has returned to us, even if it’s in this coffin,” he said, before breaking down in tears.
After sharing details about his son, whom he called his “hero,” Nimrodi reiterated that “the struggle isn’t over” and thanked the IDF soldiers “who allowed us to breathe right now” upon the return of the hostages.
The Hostage Families Forum also paid tribute to Nimrodi, noting that he had completed 10 months of his military service before he was abducted to Gaza.
“During his service, he felt like he had found his purpose and had interviewed for officer training only a week before he was taken hostage. His friends and family say he was a social and caring man. Tamir was not supposed to be on base on October 7 but volunteered to stay for that weekend (which coincided with Simchat Torah) so his friends could celebrate the holiday at home with their families.”
The Forum said that soon after his abduction, a note penned by Nimrodi was found in his room, reading, “Help as many people as possible, create a close social circle and don’t hurt anyone.”
He is survived by his parents, Herut and Alon, and sisters Amit and Mika.
Tamir’s funeral will take place on Thursday at 1 p.m. at the military cemetery in Kfar Saba, and Alon asked that “every person who Tamir touched a little come and pay final respects to my hero.”
In a statement released Wednesday , Nimrodi’s family said he was “kidnapped cruelly from his base and murdered in Hamas captivity.”
However, the families forum said in its own statement that he had been “killed by IDF bombings in captivity.”
The IDF said in a later statement that it assessed that Nimrodi was killed in captivity at the start of the war. “Final conclusions will be formulated after the completion of the examination of the circumstances of death” at the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv, the military said.
Nimrodi was serving in COGAT’s Coordination and Liaison Administration to the Gaza Strip when he was kidnapped. He was seen in footage, along with Nik Baizer and Ron Sherman, walked by terrorists, wearing shorts and T-shirts, to the gate of the base.
Israel has accused Hamas of violating the recently implemented ceasefire by withholding the bodies of deceased hostages. Hamas released the final 20 living hostages on Monday, as well as the bodies of seven dead captives so far. One body sent by Hamas on Tuesday was found to not belong to any hostage.