Ohad Yahalomi, who was murdered in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, was buried at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Wednesday.
His remains were returned to Israel last Thursday, along with those of Itzik Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur, and Tsachi Idan.
The Yahalomi family, alongside the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, invited the public to join in the funeral procession and pay their respects.
The funeral procession departed from Rish LeZion at 8:15 a.m., with eulogies beginning in Nir Oz at 11 a.m. on the lawn by the dining hall, after which the funeral took place at the kibbutz cemetery.
“The light has gone out now, and I am walking in shadows, groping and wondering how to move forward,” Yahalomi’s widow, Bat-Sheva, said at the ceremony. “Over the past year, we missed you in every decision.”
“On Oct. 7th, you went out to protect us—that’s who you were. People ask us if we weren’t afraid to live in the Gaza Envelope and of terrorist infiltrations,” she stated. “We always felt safe when you were with us.”
“The children and I longed for you, and all that time, we had immense hope that you would return,” Bat-Sheva Yahalomi told attendees.
Elgarat was buried at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Monday.
The funeral for Mantzur, 86, the oldest hostage held by Hamas prior to his murder in captivity, was held on Sunday at Kibbutz Kissufim, where he lived for more than 70 years.