Slain hostage Eliyahu Margalit finally laid to rest, as Israel buries two soldiers

Eliyahu “Churchill” Margalit, who was murdered by terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz two years ago at age 75 and his body taken captive to Gaza, was finally laid to rest in Israel on Monday, after Hamas returned his remains Friday night.

He was buried the same day as two soldiers — Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz, 21 — who were killed on Sunday by terror operatives in the Strip.

Margalit, who is survived by his wife, three children, and three grandchildren, left his home in the border community early in the morning on October 7, 2023, to feed his horses in the kibbutz stable, and was slain there. For decades, he had overseen the cattle at the kibbutz.

At the funeral in Nir Oz on Monday, his daughter Nili, 40, whom invaders also kidnapped during the Hamas-led onslaught and held hostage for 55 days, spoke about a tattoo she got after her return from captivity, “to burn this disaster into my body, so it won’t be imprinted only on my soul.”

“While I know you wouldn’t like it, I also know you’d accept it, like you always accepted me,” Nili said to her slain father.

“Since that Shabbat, I’ve felt I have no words to describe the storm of emotions inside me,” she continued. “At first, I refused to use the word ‘comfort.’ What comfort could be found over such a great catastrophe, in which I lost not just you, but also my closest friends, who were an inseparable part of me, my own house, which was burned, our beautiful kibbutz?”

“But with time, and the endless insanity of the last two years, I understood that I can find comfort in the fact that you left us so early in the morning, that you didn’t suffer, that you didn’t see the shocking sights, the destruction, and the abandonment there that day, and for many days ahead of it. That, for you, our beloved kibbutz remains as you knew it,” she said.

“Dad, you closed your eyes a long time ago, and in a few minutes your body will be in the ground. The ground that you so loved will envelop you, as your journey in this world comes to an end,” his daughter said.

Another daughter, Noa, spoke of the consolation she found in the return of her father’s body from Gaza after two years, saying: “I so needed you to return home. Now, I’m going to be okay.”

Margalit’s friend Gilad Sharon — the son of former prime minister Ariel Sharon — shared that “for nine months, Churchill’s stable stood deserted. His friends had had enough, and they decided to do something. Together with the family and people from Nir Oz, they restored the stable and brought horses, so that now, on the other side of the kibbutz, you can hear horses neighing again.”

He added that “Churchill’s riding buddies, whom he rode with for decades, continue to ride. Among the saddles, bridles, ropes, and other riding equipment that the group takes with them, there’s something else — a photo of Churchill.”

Soldiers killed in Rafah attack laid to rest

Also laid to rest on Monday were two soldiers who were killed on Sunday after Hamas operatives attacked them with RPGs and sniper fire in southern Gaza’s Rafah, within the area controlled by Israel during the ongoing ceasefire.

Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, was buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on Monday, after residents of his hometown of Modiin accompanied the casket on its journey. He is survived by his wife, Netta, his parents Dganit and Oren, his brother Idan, and his sister Yuval.

“My child, the hole you’ve left behind is enormous. I can’t describe how much is missing without you,” said Yaniv’s father, Omer, at his funeral. “You were always yourself. The thoroughness with which you did things was your calling card.”

His mother spoke about their shared love of sports, and the time she decided to run a triathlon, and Yaniv immediately volunteered to run it with her. “On the day of the race, our spirits were high. We knew we would do the best ever — and we did it together,” she said.

Netta, the fallen soldier’s widow, recalled: “You always knew how to read me, and everyone, like an open book. Your conscience was clear; you always did what was right and that was the only thing you focused on.”

Yaniv was appointed company commander shortly before his death. His brother Idan noted how hard he worked to reach the position, and remembered how “that combination — of the big picture with the little details — came so naturally to you.”

And Yuval, his sister, recalled that “throughout the month [you were in Gaza], you wrote to me. I asked you when you’d get out again. Since you entered this role, you’ve hardly gotten out to see people. You always wrote to me: ‘The mission isn’t completed. There are still hostages to return.’”

Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz, 21, killed in the same attack in Gaza, was also laid to rest Monday in the military cemetery in Modi’in.

His father, Avishai, shared at the funeral that Itay wrote notes on his phone over the last two years, knowing that if he were killed, his family would find them. Avishai read some of the notes, “so you’ll understand a little bit what kind of son we had.”

One note began: “I am in the world: the world that’s so big, full of infinite meaning, and what’s my place in it, if I’m just another little coil in a well-oiled machine? The power of the universe amazes me anew every time. I know that beauty and goodness are hovering around me, touching every heartbeat.”

The note continued with a reflection that “I don’t just exist, for no reason, and that there is a reason for everything.”

Another read: “I’m happy in the feeling of growth and development that I’m going through, and I haven’t managed to put into words the awakening that I feel since starting to study at university. There’s a new movement inside me, almost dizzying, an attempt to understand how to stay myself, but a better version. Me, but less irritable, more tolerant, more present.”

His father eulogized: “My Itay, like I always said to you, I’m proud of you and value your choices. You were the whole world to me, I salute you.”