Families of Israeli hostages mourn the dead

The war in the Gaza Strip broke out after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel.

Tel-Aviv:

The sister of an Israeli hostage whose body was recovered from Gaza last week struck a solemn tone on Sunday as she laid him to rest after thousands attended his funeral.

“I was afraid of this ending, but I wanted so much for it to end differently,” Avivit Yablonka told AFP at the funeral of her brother Chanan.

Chanan, 42, was assassinated on October 7 in an unprecedented Hamas attack as he tried to flee the Nova music festival that killed at least 364 people.

His body was taken to the Gaza Strip by militants but was recovered by Israeli troops on Friday after he spent 230 days in captivity.

Within a week, the Israeli army announced the deaths of eight hostages who were believed to be alive – five Israelis, two Thais and one French-Mexican national.

The army also recovered seven bodies, including that of Khanan, held in Gaza since October 7.

Hope has also faded among the families of other hostages, whose whereabouts are unknown.

In the attack, the militants took 252 hostages. 121 of them are still in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli army, 37 of them are dead.

Dozens of the hostages’ relatives gathered outside Chanan’s parents’ house on Sunday for a silent procession to the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, accompanied by thousands waving Israeli flags.

The Yablonka family had called on people to join the march in solidarity with the hostages.

“We must bring everyone back – this march is for him and for the release of all hostages,” Avivit said.

Surrounded by a crowd, Chanan’s family said goodbye.

– ‘From Funeral to Funeral’ –

The war in the Gaza Strip broke out after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP news agency count based on official Israeli figures.

According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled area, at least 35,984 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza.

Before learning of her brother’s death, 48-year-old Avivit attended the funeral of Ron Benjamin, who the army said was found in the same tunnel complex in northern Gaza as her brother.

“I’m scared. I go from one funeral to the next. I’m so scared, but I have hope, I’m not giving up,” she said at the time.

Chanan, a father of two children, played for the football club Hapoel Tel Aviv in his youth and was still a fan today.

His family had not heard from him since October 7. Ninety days after his disappearance, they were told he was in Gaza.

“We thought they would come back alive, but they came back in coffins,” Avivit said before laying her brother to rest.

Avivit said she wanted to “believe that the government really wants to bring them all back and that it is difficult to negotiate with such murderers.”

She said she had not received a call from any minister or MP last week.

– Anger at the government –

Their anger is shared by Jonathan Dekel-Chen, a professor of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, whose son Sagi is being held hostage in Gaza.

“My anger is growing,” he told AFP.

“We see that there is no progress in the return of the hostages… Israeli society is behind us, but the government is not doing enough to bring them home.”

But he still hopes to find his son alive. He was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. His pregnant wife and two daughters had to stay behind.

Sagi’s wife Avital has now given birth to a daughter named Shahar, which means “dawn” in English.

On October 7, about 75 people from Kibbutz Nir Oz were arrested.

Dekel-Chen said his “daily” dream is to see his son reunited with his entire family, including children Gali, 3, and Bar, 7.

“They run to him and he runs on his two legs to his wife Avital and Shahar, the baby, and finally hugs him and resumes a normal life,” he said, describing his recurring dream.

“This is my mission. I won’t stop until it happens.”

At the entrance to the university library, he stared with tears in his eyes at a portrait of his son hanging on the reception desk.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)