Dror Or, a chef specializing in dairy cuisine who was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and whose remains were taken to the Gaza Strip by Palestinian terrorists, was laid to rest on Sunday morning, five days after Hamas returned his body for burial.
“Great pain and sorrow fill the people of Israel today, together with the Or family and all of Kibbutz Be’eri—a remarkable community that suffered grievous harm yet never lost its humanity or its mutual responsibility,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on X.
“After more than two years of pain and anguish, Dror Or, the kibbutz’s last slain hostage from that horrific massacre, is being accompanied to his eternal rest in the soil of the community he loved so deeply,” he said.
“May his memory, and the memory of all the kibbutz’s loved ones, illuminate our obligation to continue uniting hearts, increasing the light and doing everything in our power to bring home our two remaining hostages,” added the head of state.
As the funeral procession left Kibbutz Re’im, dozens of people lined the roads leading to the cemetery at Kibbutz Be’eri with Israeli and hostage flags—the national flag integrated with a yellow ribbon or yellow text/imagery.
Or, 48 at the time, was murdered by Islamic Jihad terrorists and his body taken from Be’eri on Oct. 7 after his family was forced to flee their burning home. His wife, Yonat, was killed the same day. Two of his children, Alma and Noam, and his nephew Liam, were taken hostage and later returned alive in a truce deal.
His eldest son, Yahli, was not at home at the time.
Or is survived by his children Yahli, Noam and Alma, parents, Dorit and Yuval, and siblings Elad and Dana. He was the last hostage from Be’eri remaining in Gaza.
