Just two days after the joyful return of 20 living hostages from Gaza, Wednesday transformed into a day of profound sadness for Israel. Families gathered to hold funerals for the first ten individuals whose remains were tragically repatriated as part of a delicate cease-fire agreement.
Thousands of mourners filled the sacred grounds of Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery, navigating the close-set rows of stone graves. They gathered to lay to rest Captain Daniel Peretz, a tank commander who fell on October 7, 2023, during the initial Hamas assault that sparked the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Earlier that day, in central Israel’s Ra’anana, Guy Iluz, a sound technician abducted after being shot while trying to escape a music festival during the October 2023 attack, was also laid to rest.
For Captain Peretz’s family, the farewell has been agonizingly long.
The 22-year-old soldier lost his life defending the border alongside his crew against relentless waves of gunmen from Gaza. While one crew member was later found deceased, Captain Peretz and two others were taken, their fates unknown until now.
In March 2024, months after his disappearance, the military confirmed Daniel’s death, informing his family that his body was held in Gaza. At that time, a symbolic funeral was held, and his blood-soaked uniform was laid to rest.
On Wednesday evening, two days after his remains were brought back, Captain Peretz’s arduous journey finally concluded with his proper burial.
During the heartfelt eulogies, the Peretz family found solace surrounded by the parents of other tank crew members, including Matan Angrest, who was part of the same crew.
Matan Angrest, a survivor of the battle and two years of harrowing captivity in Gaza, was among the 20 hostages returned alive on Monday. Despite his evident weakness and pallor, he insisted on leaving the hospital to attend his commander’s funeral.
In a deeply moving eulogy, Mr. Angrest stated, “It was crucial for me to salute and offer my final respects to my commander Daniel, of blessed memory, who bravely led our heroic battle on that tragic Saturday.”
However, he emphasized that “the circle would only be truly complete” once the remains of the fourth crew member, Itay Chen, were also returned to be “laid to rest in Israeli soil, alongside all the other fallen heroes.”
The Peretz family immigrated to Israel from South Africa when Daniel was 13. His father, Rabbi Doron Peretz, delivered a touching eulogy, highlighting the deep bond now shared among the parents of the tank crew and countless others impacted by the October 2023 attack and the subsequent conflict. Gazing at the sea of mourners, he declared, “We are not a small country. We are a large family.”
Since Monday, Hamas militants in Gaza have released the remains of ten individuals. This brings the total repatriated to ten out of 28 bodies that the Israeli government reported were held in Gaza when the cease-fire agreement was brokered. However, Hamas’s military branch stated on Wednesday night that they had handed over all recoverable remains, given their current equipment, a declaration that could jeopardize the fragile cease-fire.
The funeral rites for 26-year-old Guy Iluz commenced with a procession from a Rishon Lezion funeral home. Approximately 100 individuals, bearing flags, silently followed the somber van carrying his coffin through the streets before it departed for Ra’anana.
By the graveside, his father, Michel Iluz, delivered a eulogy, affectionately calling him “my Guyshuk.” He recounted the horrifying moment his son was captured by Gaza gunmen during the October 7 attack. They cruelly ordered the young man to turn, then shot him twice in the back, “just for the pleasure of it,” he recounted with anguish.
Wounded but still alive, Mr. Iluz was taken captive and transported to a hospital in Gaza. The Israeli military later confirmed he died from his injuries due to a lack of adequate medical attention.
Maya Regev, a recently released hostage, was present at the funeral and shared her harrowing experience of finding Mr. Iluz in a Gaza hospital. She stayed with him during his final moments.
“You endured a week of solitude until I reached you,” she posted on social media the day prior, after his remains were identified and returned. “In the darkest, most terrifying place imaginable, we spoke of the simplest, purest things,” she shared.
Michel Iluz, Guy’s father, expressed his gratitude to Ms. Regev, stating that his son had been given a precious gift by having her presence in his last moments. He concluded, with profound relief, that his son had finally returned to the land he cherished.
“Rest now,” he whispered, “after a two-year journey through worlds unknown to us all.”
