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 were sure that if anyone could survive such harsh captivity, it was you — because no one is stronger than you, in body and spirit. We even hoped that you would win over your captors, because that’s who you are — you manage to reach people’s hearts, even those with hearts of stone.”
“On October 7, you went out to defend us — that’s who you are,” she said. Ohad had guarded outside the family’s reinforced room with his handgun, but was shot and injured in the leg before terrorists stormed the home.
“People ask us if we were afraid to live in the Gaza border area and of terrorist infiltrations. We always felt safe when you were with us.”
Batsheva lamented the state of the nation, saying that since October 7, “it feels like black clouds of darkness are creeping in and covering every good corner. They spread in the form of more fallen soldiers, hostages who do not return, and a torn country. It feels like the darkness cannot be driven away. And when I get lost in that darkness, I imagine you and what you would ask us to do — to see the good, to seek out the light, and to hold onto it.”
Appealing to listeners, she asked to “adopt Ohad’s way, to spread light and goodness; to strengthen and instill confidence; to lift up everyone who has fallen along the way and everyone who is fumbling in the dark. This is how we will change reality and drive out the darkness.”
Ohad’s sister Ayala asked him for “forgiveness” for his abduction and for “not bringing you back alive.”
She added, “The longing for you pierces the heart so deeply, and I wonder how we are to go on when the sky is falling.”
Another sister, Efrat, said: “How could they take you, a man of peace, of goodness, of generosity, of love? Truly, God takes the best, and it’s not fair… I’m sorry that your life ended this way. Sorry that after years of endless giving, in the one moment you needed help, no one came.
“Just at the age when you could finally enjoy the fruits of all your labor, your life was taken, and it’s heartbreaking.”
Ohad had worked for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and was known for his love of nature and hiking.
Raaya Shurki, the director of the INPA, said at the funeral that “his dedicated work and his exceptional approach to people and communities made Ohad beloved among the staff and the wider community.” She promised to continue to support his family.
“Dear Ohad, we salute you, we will miss you. May you rest in peace.”
Ohad was a dual French-Israeli citizen. Upon confirmation of his death last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X that “the barbaric acts of Hamas must end.”
“I share the immense pain of his family and loved ones,” he wrote. “France lost 50 of its children in the infamy of October 7.”