Mother of slain hostage: ‘Burial is a basic right, not a luxury’

The mother of Tamir Adar, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed fighting terrorists at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, implores decision-makers not to deprioritize the return of hostages’ remains.

Yael Adar begins her address at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv by noting that it’s her late son’s 39th birthday. “I became a mother 39 years ago,” she says of the birth of her first-born.

Adar says she felt “shame” when Yaakov Amidror, a former chairman of the National Security Council, recently said that of the remaining hostages in Gaza, “30-40 are no longer living.” She charges his remarks downplayed the significance of retrieving their bodies, “but burial is a basic right, not a luxury.”

Her speech was preceded by that of her daughter Roni, who speaks of the pain of watching her brother’s young children grow up without him.

The organizers of the weekly rallies on Hostages Square dedicated this week’s demonstration to siblings of hostages. Among them is Danny Elgarat, the brother of hostage Itzik Elgarat, who was abducted from Nir Oz. Danny casts doubt on the effectiveness of operations like the one in which four hostages were freed on June 8 to bring the back the rest of the captives.

“These rescue operations here and there will not remedy the situation,” he says, arguing instead for a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas. ” Itzik, his brother says, “would rather die than have anyone risk their life to save him.” Danny Elgarat accuses the government of “abandoning” Israelis “for the sole purpose of remaining in power.”