Son of murdered hostage Amiram Cooper: ‘Too horrible to think of possibility his body won’t come home’

Rotem Cooper, son of slain hostage Amiram Cooper, who was 84 when taken captive, tells reporters that he has “distorted” feelings but hopes for a measure of “closure” following the announcement of a deal to return the 48 hostages held in Gaza, including those who have been confirmed dead by Israel.

“You don’t make any preparations, you take it one day at a time,” he says at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. “We want to get some closure. We’re not trying to forget… but we want some small closure and to focus more on building.”

His father, according to the IDF, was murdered in captivity after being taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in the group’s October 7, 2023, attack. Rotem’s mother, Nurit, was also taken captive but released weeks after the attack in a humanitarian gesture. Amiram Cooper was one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Israel expects that a number of the slain hostages’ bodies may not be found or returned. Rotem says he hasn’t made any concrete preparations and is focusing on supporting the living hostages to be released, including those from Nir Oz.

“My only preparations are to cancel everything on my calendar and to be here for the families, first of all for the living hostages,” he says. “First thing, let’s receive them.”

If the terror group does not return his father’s body, he says, “It’s too horrible to think about.”

He also has harsh words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We failed as a society, certainly the leadership,” he says. “The prime minister doesn’t get points because he’s bringing my father back in a body bag. He’s a person who established the state, established the kibbutz. He should not have met his end like this.”