Slain hostage Ohad Yahalomi buried at kibbutz where he was abducted

5 March 2025, 1:51 pm

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Batsheva Yahalomi (C-L), the wife of Ohad Yahalomi, mourns with his sister Efrat (C-R) outside the morgue in Rishon Lezion where his body was been kept ahead of his funeral on March 5, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Ohad Yahalomi, who was killed in Hamas captivity and returned to Israel last week is buried at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, his home from where he was taken hostage.

His wife Batsheva eulogizes him.

“My Ohadi, 16 years of togetherness; 16 years you were an anchor, with support, love and courageous friendship; 16 years of joy and light, and the light has gone out now. And I walk in the shadows, groping. How do I move forward without you? Where am I going?” she says.

“Over the past year, we have missed you in every decision, in every way we have behaved. In every decision, I tried to think about whether you would approve. The children and I missed your laughter, your cooking, and in general, everything about you,” she says.

“All that time, we had enormous hope that you would return — because who can beat you? We were sure that if anyone could survive the difficult captivity, it would be you. Because there is no one stronger than you, both in body and spirit. We even imagined that your captors liked you, because of who you are.”

Hundreds of people lined the roads leading to the funeral, waving Israeli flags.