Photo by
Yossi Zeliger/TPS-IL on 5 March, 2025
‘The Light Has Gone Out’: French-Israeli Hostage Murdered in Gaza Laid to Rest
Jerusalem, 5 March, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- French-Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi, who was murdered while in Hamas captivity, was buried in Kibbutz Nir Oz Wednesday as hundreds of Israelis lined the streets of southern Israel to pay their final respects.
After 16 years of marriage, of “joy and light, the light has now gone out, and I walk in the shadows and cast about in the dark,” said his wife, Batsheva.
“We were sure that if anyone could survive the harsh captivity, it would be you, because no one is stronger than you in body and in spirit,” she said, adding, “We had even hoped that your captors would grow fond of you, because that’s just who you are, someone who enters people’s hearts, even those whose heart is made of stone.”
On the morning of October 7, the 50-year-old Yahalomi sat outside his house’s safe room protecting his family when the door didn’t close properly. Also taken captive was his 12-year-old son, Eitan, who was freed in November 2023. Batsheva and two younger daughters managed to escape capture.
Ohad was last seen in a Hamas propaganda video released in January 2024 in which he appeared to be injured.
He worked for the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority, whose patrol cars led the funeral procession from Rishon LeZion to Nir Oz. He co-published a scorpion guidebook with partners and contributed to educational initiatives in the Bedouin community, the kibbutz said.
Yahalomi’s sister, Efrat, said Ohad had told her months before the attack that he had everything he needed in life and wanted to simply enjoy time with his wife and children.
“Just when you could have finally enjoyed the fruits of your hard work, your life was taken – and it breaks my heart,” she said.
“How could they take you – someone of peace, kindness, generosity, and love? They say God takes the best, but it’s not fair… I’m sorry your life ended this way. Sorry that after years of endless giving, the one time you needed help – no one came.”
At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead.
