Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Tsachi Idan, an Israeli hostage murdered in Hamas captivity, was laid to rest Friday beside his daughter, Ma’ayan, who was killed in the October 7 Hamas attack.
The funeral procession began at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, home to Idan’s favorite soccer team Hapoel Tel Aviv, before making its way to Kibbutz Einat for burial.
3 View gallery
Tsachi Idan (right), murdered in Hamas captivity, and his daughter Ma'ayan, murdered on October 7, at a Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer match
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
“The unbearable journey our family has been through to bring our beloved Tsachi back from hell in Gaza has come to an end,” his family said in a statement.
Idan had been held captive for 510 days. Signs of life from him had been received, and he was known to be alive as recently as November 2023. His name was included in an initial hostage deal, but he was never released.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
At the funeral, his uncle, Yigal Idan, spoke of grief and despair. “Although you are now home, I want to apologize to you for not bringing you back alive or shouting loudly enough to be heard,” he said. “We are sorry that our country forgot you and did not know how to return you on time, and that in this world, geniuses like you are left to rot in tunnels while contemptible leaders allow themselves to sentence you to death.”
live
A convoy transports the remains of slain hostages returned from Gaza
(Video: Reuters)
3 View gallery
People line the streets to honor slain hostage Tsachi Idan as his funeral procession departs Bloomfield Stadium
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
Idan was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Hamas attack, which was filmed and posted online by the terrorists. His daughter was murdered in the assault, and his home was used as a base to hold other kidnapped families. Among them were Omri Miran, who remains in captivity, and Judith and Natalie Raanan, who have since been released.
His remains were returned to Israel early Thursday along with the bodies of three other Israelis—Itzik Elgarat and Ohad Yahalomi, who were also killed in captivity, and Shlomo Mansour, who was murdered on Oct. 7 and whose body was taken to Gaza.
As the remains were brought into Israel, people lined the route from the Gaza border, waving Israeli flags in mourning. The bodies were identified by forensic teams after being transferred to the IDF by the Red Cross and taken to the National Center of Forensic Medicine, where the cause of death was determined.