Nature and Parks Authority, Environment Ministry: Ohad Yahalomi’s legacy will live on

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Environmental Protection Ministry eulogize Ohad Yahalomi, an employee of the former, after his body was identified as one of four slain hostages released overnight by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

Yahalomi, 50 at the time of his death, supervised the Judean Desert for the nature authority from 2006 to 2013, going on to additional positions until he joined the Green Patrol as director of the Southern Region in 2019. The patrol enforces environmental laws.

Flags of the Nature and Parks Authority have been lowered at all sites in memory of Yahalomi.

“The pain is deep,” a statement from the INPA says, “but Ohad will not be forgotten. His legacy will live on through the paths and landscapes where he worked, through everyone who knew him and learned from him.”

The organization says Yahalomi was “a role model for us; a man who dedicated his energy and experience to preserving nature in Israel,” who was much loved by the authority’s staff and the wider community.

It says the Yahalomi family is “part of the Nature and Parks Authority” and pledges that the authority will continue to help and support it.

A statement from the environmental protection minister, ministry director-general and staff says, “His legacy will continue to accompany us all, and we will continue to work for the country he loved so much.”