Military representatives on Saturday morning notified the family of Lior Rudaeff that his body was returned to Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Friday night, after forensic experts completed their identification.

Rudaeff, 61, the deputy security coordinator at Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak and a member of its civil defense squad, was killed while battling Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in the community on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was abducted to Gaza by the Hamas-allied terror group.

He was survived by his wife, Yaffa, his four children, Noam, Nadav, Bar and Ben, several grandchildren, his father, Giora, and his siblings Idit and Doron.

Like other civil defense squad members who were killed while fighting Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, Rudaeff was posthumously promoted to the rank of warrant officer in reserves.

The bodies of five slain hostages now remain held in the Strip — four Israelis and a Thai citizen: Meny Godard, Lt. Hadar Goldin, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, Dror Or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.

“The Israeli government shares in the deep sorrow of the Rudaeff family and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The PMO said that Israel is “determined, committed and working tirelessly” to bring back the remaining five slain hostages for burial, adding that Hamas is “required to fulfill its commitments to the mediators and return them as part of the implementation of the agreement.”

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad handed over the remains to the Red Cross on Friday night, which then transferred them to Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces inspected the casket before draping it in an Israeli flag and holding a short ceremony led by a military rabbi.

After leaving the Strip, the body was escorted by police to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification. The two terror groups did not provide the identity of the hostage they handed over.

Rudaeff was the 23rd deceased hostage handed over by Hamas since a ceasefire took effect on October 10, halting the war that began when the Palestinian terror group led a devastating invasion of southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and during which terrorists abducted 251 people as hostages to Gaza.

At the start of the truce, Hamas still held 48 hostages in Gaza — 20 alive and 28 deceased. Under the terms of the ceasefire, it was obligated to return all of them within 72 hours.

The terrorists have since released all surviving captives, but Israel accuses Hamas of dragging its feet over the return of the remaining deceased hostages.

Following the identification of Rudaeff’s body, Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza, officials at the Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis said. As part of the deal, Israel has returned the remains of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli hostage.

‘After 763 nightmarish days, he is home’

Rudaeff was up early on the morning of October 7, preparing for a motorcycle ride to the Ramon Crater, when he got a call from the kibbutz emergency squad to protect the community.

He went out to join the battle for the kibbutz and stationed himself alongside other civil defense squad members at the entrance to Nir Yitzhak.

At one point in the morning, one of the terrorists jumped over the community’s fence and exchanged fire with Rudaeff. Terrorists also tried to abduct the body of another civil defense squad member, but withdrew after coming under fire from Rudaeff and other local security officers.

Rudaeff later sent a message that he had been wounded in the fighting. He sent his love to his wife, Yaffa, and his four children, and since then, all communication had been lost.

His death was officially confirmed by the IDF in May 2024.

“After 763 days of nightmare, he came home,” Rudaeff’s daughter, Noam, posted on social media on Saturday morning with a picture of her father. “Now you are home, now you are here.”

“Thank you to all the good people who stood with us in our uncompromising and humane fight to return him and all the hostages home,” she wrote.

The Hostage Families Forum also welcomed the news.

“The families of the hostages and the returned are embracing the family of Lior Rudaeff at this time, as their beloved Lior of blessed memory was returned to Israel today for proper burial,” the forum said in a statement.

“Alongside the grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole, Lior’s return provides some measure of comfort to a family that has lived with agonizing uncertainty and doubt for over two years,” the forum said. “We will not rest until the last hostage is brought home.”

A man of the land, family and community

The kibbutz also hailed the return, noting that his heroism had saved many other members of the community.

“Exactly two years and a month ago, he left his home for the last time to protect his family and the place that had been his home all his life. Thanks to his courage and resourcefulness, a greater disaster was averted – but he paid for it with his life,” Nir Yitzhak said in a statement.

“Lior was a man of the land, family and community. A volunteer, neighbor and true friend who was always there for everyone. The entire Nir Yitzhak community grieves Lior’s passing and lovingly embraces his beautiful wife, his children, his grandchildren and all the family members at this difficult and heartbreaking moment of closing a circle.”

Born in Argentina, Lior – the middle child – moved with his family to Israel on his 7th birthday, and they settled in Nir Yitzhak near the Gaza border.

Lior attended local schools, including the nearby Ma’ale Habesor high school. After graduating, he enlisted in the IDF and served in an anti-aircraft warfare unit.

In 1985, he married Yaffa, and they established their home in the kibbutz, where they raised their four children. Later, he doted on his grandchildren.

Over the years, Lior worked in a number of different jobs in the kibbutz, including starting at the mechanic shop at age 12. He ultimately earned a license for practically every vehicle with an engine and wheels, the kibbutz said. He taught every teen on the kibbutz how to drive a tractor and a forklift and gave classes on proper driving at the local high school.

For the last 18 years of his life, Lior worked as a traffic safety officer for a transport safety company.

He had served as a member of the kibbutz’s local security team for around 40 years, and as a Magen David Adom ambulance driver for approximately 25 years. His hobbies included motorcycle riding, bike riding and cooking.

At a memorial ceremony held after it was revealed that he had been killed, his son, Nadav, described his father as “the man with the blue eyes, the sly smile, the rolling laughter, the folded arms and the toothpick in your mouth.”

His father, he said, “was never afraid to say what was on your mind,” and had a dark sense of humor, “repeating the same dad jokes over and over again, always bursting out laughing.”

More than anything, Nadav said, Lior had “a huge heart.”