The family of deceased hostage Lior Rudaeff, whose body was returned from Gaza overnight, welcomes the news, saying that it brings an end to “763 nightmarish days.”
“After 763 days of nightmare, he came home,” Rudaeff’s daughter Noam posts on social media with a picture of her father. “Now you are home, now you are here.”
“Thank you to all the good people who stood with us in our uncompromising and humane fight to return him and all the hostages home,” she writes.
The Hostage Families Forum also welcomes the news.
“The families of the hostages and the returned are embracing the family of Lior Rudaeff at this time, as their beloved Lior of blessed memory was returned to Israel today for proper burial,” the forum says in a statement.
“Alongside the grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole, Lior’s return provides some measure of comfort to a family that has lived with agonizing uncertainty and doubt for over two years,” the statement says. “We will not rest until the last hostage is brought home.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, November 8, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
