After completing the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir: IDF representatives informed the families of Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch this evening (Thursday) that the bodies of their loved ones had been returned to Israel.
The bodies of 11 dead hostages now remain in the Gaza Strip - two of them foreigners.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that the procedure was carried out in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate. The statement said: "The government shares in the deep sorrow of the Cooper and Baruch families and all the families of the fallen hostages. The government and the entire Israeli security apparatus are determined, committed and working tirelessly to return all of our fallen hostages to a proper burial in their country.".
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Amiram Cooper, the Rev. 86-year-old Munir Oz was murdered in captivity. He was kidnapped from his home with his wife Nurit Cooper, who was released from captivity along with Yocheved Lifshitz, even before the hostage deal. In December 2023, Hamas released footage of Amiram, in which he was seen with the hostages Haim Perry and Yoram Metzger.
It is estimated that he was murdered in captivity, during February 2024. Final conclusions will be drawn after the completion of the examination of the circumstances of death at the National Center for Forensic Medicine.
Amiram, a father of three children and grandfather of nine grandchildren, was one of the founders of Nir Oz. He worked for many years as the chief economist of the Maon region settlements. He was also a poet and composer - he published books of poetry, wrote plays and published many articles dealing with politics and economics.
Cooper is the last of the 76 kibbutz abductees who were kidnapped on the morning of October 7th.
Sahar Baruch, blessed by God. The 25-year-old from Kibbutz Be'eri was kidnapped alive to Gaza after he and his brother Idan tried 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.
In May 2024, the IDF announced that Sahar was killed during an attempt to rescue him from captivity, after a force from the IDF's Sayeret Matkal patrol attempted to rescue Sahar from his captors on December 7, 2023, but during the rescue attempt he was shot dead. It is not possible to determine whether he was hit by gunfire from our forces or whether the terrorists murdered him because they feared the approaching forces.
Final conclusions will be drawn after the completion of the examination of the circumstances of death at the National Center for Forensic Medicine.
Sahar is survived by his parents, Tami and Roni Baruch, and his brothers, Guy and Niv. His brother, Idan Baruch, the 14th, and his grandmother, Geula Bachar, the 14th, were murdered in an attack on the kibbutz.
About a month before the massacre, he returned from a long trip to South America, and shortly thereafter he was scheduled to begin his studies as a student in the Electrical Engineering Department at Ben-Gurion University.
The Prime Minister's Office emphasized: "The Hamas terrorist organization is required to fulfill its obligations to the mediators and return them as part of the implementation of the agreement. We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until we return all the kidnapped people, down to the last one.".
In the Gaza Strip, 11 hostages remain dead: Captain Omar Nowtra, Major General 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.
