From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
‘They murdered my soul’: Father of slain hostage Guy Illouz parts from son as he’s laid to rest in Ra’anana
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Michel Illouz, the father of slain hostage Guy Illouz, whose body was returned from Gaza earlier this week for burial in his hometown of Ra’anana this afternoon, eulogizes his eldest child after two years of rallying and protesting to bring him home.
“They kidnapped you — they murdered you — they kidnapped me too, and my very identity; they murdered my soul and my heart,” says Illouz. “I’ve been hollow, full of holes, ever since that senseless shooting by those vile terrorists, when they caught you, told you to turn around — and then simply fired two unnecessary bullets into your back.”
Illouz describes driving to the Abu Kabir forensics institute on Wednesday morning to identify him and say goodbye.
“I touched you, tried to smell you, caressed every bone of yours, saw you, was alone with you — and yes, I felt with absolute certainty that it was you,” says Illouz. “Yes, I know, my Guychuk, that you’ve come back to us — back to your family’s embrace, to your friends, and to the millions of people whose hearts your story has touched.”
Illouz, 26, was wounded and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Nova music festival. He later succumbed to his wounds in a Gaza hospital, apparently due to lack of medical treatment.
Michel thanks former hostage Maya Regev, who is present at the funeral, for being with his son before his death, while they were both hospitalized.
Regev recounted following her release from captivity in November 2023 that Illouz had been told by his captors that he was to receive a surprise, and that he had thought, and hoped, it would be sage tea. Instead, it was Regev, who was put in the bed next to him, in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital.
Regev was with him until his death, days later.
“My Guychuk, I love you so, so much,” says Illouz. “I will miss you every second, every minute of my life. Rest now, my sweet boy, rest after two years of journeying through worlds unknown to us.”
The Times of Israel Community.