‘Our son has returned to us, even if it’s in this coffin,’ says father of slain hostage Tamir Nimrodi

Alon Nimrodi, the father of deceased hostage Tamir Nimrodi, whose body was confirmed today to have been returned from Hamas last night, tells Channel 12 in an emotional interview that he feels “fortunate” to have final confirmation of his son’s death — which the IDF had not officially announced until his body was recovered — and emphasizes that the “struggle” is not over until all 21 remaining deceased hostages are brought back to Israel.

Tamir was confirmed this morning to be among the three dead hostages returned last night, making him the final confirmed deceased hostage taken by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023. The IDF said it assesses that Tamir was abducted alive from his military base on October 7 and killed in captivity at the start of the war.

Describing the moment he received his eldest son’s body, Alon tells the Hebrew network: “The moment we so feared — the moment I refused to believe would come — and all along I kept saying, if there’s even a 0.1% chance, we’ll move heaven and earth to bring Tamir back safely.”

“We, like every one of the hostage families, never had the right to give up or relax for even a single moment,” he continues, 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 adds hesitantly, “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 says, before breaking down in tears.

After sharing details about his son, whom he calls “my hero,” Alon reiterates that “The struggle isn’t over” and thanks the IDF soldiers “who allowed us to breathe right now,” with the return of the hostages.

Earlier on Monday, ahead of the release of the 20 living hostages, Alon wrote on social media that there was still no final announcement regarding his son’s fate and that his family was desperately awaiting confirmation.