The deaths of three Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped by Hamas during the brutal October 7 attacks, were confirmed by their families on Friday.
The family of 70-year-old Ofra Keidar said they were informed that she had been killed while in Gaza, according to a written statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel.
Keidar “loved gardening, swimming in the kibbutz pool, the kibbutz petting zoo, and especially taking early quiet morning walks amongst the citrus groves, on the paths that she so cherished,” according to the statement.
Keidar was kidnapped when she went out for her morning walk in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, the statement said.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum also announced it was mourning the death of Israeli hostage, Guy Illouz.
Illouz, 26, was “kidnapped from the nature party in Re’im,” during the deadly attacks, the statement says.
His family remembered him as a “young and promising musician who worked as a sound engineer for Israeli artist Shalom Hanoch and the band ‘HaYehudim.’”
And the Kibbutz Nir Oz announced with “great sorrow” the death of one of its members, Eliyahu (Churchill) Margalit, 76.
Margalit was married to Daphna, a father to Noa, Danny, and Nili, and a grandfather to three grandchildren, the statement says.
He was described as a “true cowboy at heart, dedicated to managing the kibbutz stables and cattle farm for many years.”
Margalit’s 41-year-old daughter, Nilli Margalit, was also abducted and taken to Gaza during the Hamas attacks but was released on Thursday.
Earlier on Friday, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced Eliyahu Margalit’s death.
