Amiram Cooper, 85, was the last abductee remaining in Gaza from Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was killed in captivity during IDF operations in Khan Yunis, and for years was the chief economist of the Ma'on region. Sahar Baruch, 25, was killed in an IDF attempt to rescue him from captivity. He was abducted to Gaza about a month after returning from a long trip to South America. 11 abductees remain in the Strip
Roni Green Shaulov, Itamar Eichner, Yoav Zeiton|
Kibbutz Nir Oz announced this evening (Thursday) that one of the two kidnapped civilians returned earlier by Hamas to Israel is Amiram Cooper, the kibbutz's latest abductee. A few minutes later, the Prime Minister's Office announced that kidnapped civilian Sahar Baruch had also been returned to Israel.
Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch, Z"l
The coffins of the late Amiram Cooper and the late Sahar Baruch (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
Amiram, 85, an economist, farmer and poet, a beloved and devoted family man, was married to Norit, father of Rotem, Ravit, Lotan and Shrolik and grandfather of 11 grandchildren. Amiram was a member of the"Hashomer Hatzair" movement and from his youth aspired to be a farmer and kibbutznik. Together with his friends in the Nahal core, he was a pioneer and founder of Kibbutz Nir Oz and saw the settlement of the western Negev as his life's mission.
As an economist, during his 65 years on the kibbutz, he was a farm manager, worked in agriculture and later served for 24 years as the chief economist of the Ma'on region until his retirement. As a talented poet and composer, he wrote plays, articles and many poetry books that expressed his love for nature, agriculture and kibbutz life that are known and accompany every generation. In Nir Oz they said that"we will always remember Amiram as a man of people and words, a pioneer and values, a man of initiative and ideas who loved the kibbutz and its people so much."
After his identification, Kibbutz Nir Oz announced that"755 days after the massacre - there are no abductees from Kibbutz Nir Oz in captivity in Gaza. On October 7, in the hours of inaction, 76 people were abducted from Nir Oz and our home became the epicenter of a disaster. Since then, the Nir Oz community has lived through that terrible day, and is struggling to return all the abductees. Now, with the return of the last abductee from the kibbutz, we can begin to work, recover, and mourn the 65 of our loved ones who will never return. Alongside our painful closing of the circle, there are 11 more families waiting for their loved ones. We will continue to work together with them to return them all - until the last abductee."
Sahar, 25, from Bari, was kidnapped to Gaza alive after he tried, along with his brother Idan, to escape through a window from terrorists who had invaded the kibbutz and set fire to their home. About two months later, in December 2023, his family was informed that he was no longer alive. The IDF later announced that he had been killed during the attempt to rescue him from captivity, and this evening it was reported that"the final conclusions will be formulated after the completion of the examination of the circumstances of the death at the National Center for Forensic Medicine."
His aunt Merav Barkai said at the time: "The thought and the knowledge that he was so close to us, we were almost ready to hug him - it breaks our hearts. From our perspective, all his data, everything we knew about him, he was supposed to survive this. He's a smart guy, knows how to deal with people, is strong and has abilities. We imagined him coming back."
Sahar is survived by his parents, Tami and Roni Baruch, and his brothers Guy and Niv. His brother Idan Baruch, the late, and his grandmother Geula Bachar, the late, were murdered in an attack on the kibbutz. About a month before the massacre, Sahar returned from a long trip to South America, and shortly thereafter he was scheduled to begin his studies as a student in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Ben-Gurion University.
There were, as published on Ynet, several intelligence errors in the operation to rescue him. The force from Sayeret Matkal arrived quietly and secretly to the building where the abductee was being held in Khan Yunis in December 2023. The front-line fighter placed a small, precise bomb in the entrance of the house, which exploded as the fighters expected. However, the terrorists on the scene reacted quickly and threw many grenades that exploded one after the other, wounding several fighters, some seriously, and delaying the operation. Baruch was killed in the exchange of fire, and the terrorists managed to escape with his body.
Kibbutz Be'eri said,"We embrace Sahar's parents, brothers, and all of his family, who worked day and night in the fight to have him returned for burial in Israel. At this difficult and painful time, we hope that the family will find some comfort in the fact that a cycle of horrors of 755 days and nights has been closed. We continue to demand the full implementation of the deal, and as soon as possible. In anticipation of the return of the late Manny Goddard and the late Dror Or and all the deceased abductees, and we call for continuing to fight without compromise, until the last abductee."
The Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, today (Photo: AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The Prime Minister's Office announced this evening that"after completing the identification process by the National Center for Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the families of the deceased abductees Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch that their loved ones have been returned to Israel and identification has been completed. The Israeli government shares in the deep sorrow of the Cooper and Baruch families and all the families of the deceased abductees."
"The government and the entire Israeli security apparatus are determined, committed and working tirelessly to return all of our fallen hostages for a proper burial in their country. The Hamas terrorist organization is required to fulfill its commitments to the mediators and return them within the framework of implementing the agreement. We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we return all of the hostages, down to the last one. May their memory be blessed."
On the previous day, Hamas announced that it had located Sahar and Amir in the Gaza Strip, but claimed at the time that it would not return them following IDF strikes in response to the terrorist shooting in Rafah - which killed reserve soldier Efi Feldbaum.
Israel assessed that Hamas was deliberately trying to buy time, in parallel with the organization's attempts to reestablish its control over the Strip and avoid dealing with the demobilization demands that are expected to come with the arrival of the stabilization force. The assessment is that as long as negotiations on the establishment of the international force continue, Hamas will try to use the hijacked spaces as a bargaining chip, both with the United States and with Israel, to improve its terms in future talks on the reconstruction and civilian management of Gaza.
In the Gaza Strip, 11 hostages remain dead: Captain Omar Nowtra, Major Ran Gueili, Sergeant Itay Chen, Sergeant Oz Daniel, Colonel Assaf Hammi, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, Dror Or, Manny Goddard, Lior Rudaif, Joshua Luito Molal and Sontisque Rintalk.
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