Latest news with #Yahalomi
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Israelis bid farewell to hostage in emotional kibbutz funeral
Dozens of mourners gathered Wednesday in Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel near Gaza, to bid farewell to Ohad Yahalomi, whose body was returned by Hamas last month. The nature guide was seized during the Palestinian Islamist movement's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, when nearly a quarter of Nir Oz's residents were killed or taken hostage. "We've lost a formidable person," his friend Yael Lotem told AFP. "He was a part of our family for many years, he was a part of our lives," said the 64-year-old resident of nearby Gvulot kibbutz while waiting for the funeral procession. Yahalomi, a French-Israeli national, was 49 when he was abducted. His body was not returned until February 27, in a hostage-prisoner exchange under a ceasefire deal that began on January 19. More than 100 mourners watched silently as his coffin, wrapped in an Israeli flag, was lowered into the sandy soil of the kibbutz cemetery. Tulips and sunflowers covered his grave in a mound as high as the mourners' thighs. - Wounded while fighting - During the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, the Yahalomi family tried to take shelter in their home's safe room, according to his widow Bat-Sheva Yahalomi. The door wouldn't lock, so Yahalomi stood in front of it with a pistol. He was wounded in a shootout before being abducted. Their family home remains riddled with bullet holes from the attack. His wife and their three children were also taken hostage but attempted to escape. Only the mother and two daughters managed to flee, leaving behind 12-year-old Eitan. He was released in November 2023 during a brief truce. Ohad Yahalomi was declared dead in January 2024 in a video released by a Hamas-affiliated group. The Israeli army confirmed his death only after his body was returned. A nature enthusiast, Yahalomi worked for the Israel Parks and Nature Authority. An expert on scorpions, he had even written a guide on them. "I find it very hard that the country still hasn't managed to bring all the hostages home," said his friend Lotem. "It was possible to bring them all back alive, but that didn't happen," added Lotem, whose daughter and grandchildren were also taken hostage on October 7 but released after 51 days in captivity. - 'Magical caracter' - Moshe Lotem, 69, struggled to hold back tears as he spoke about the man he considered "like a son". "Ohad was someone very special. He didn't distinguish between people; he helped anyone he could," he said. "When I learned he had been taken, I was relieved, because I thought he would be able to look after my daughter and grandchildren. "I was sure that with his magical personality, he could soften Hamas a little, show them human kindness," he added. "I couldn't believe he wouldn't come back." Yael Mitzafon, 51, another family friend, also believed he would survive. "I felt like he could come back alive. That didn't happen, and I was deeply shocked," she said. "It's important for his family to see their friends present here and elsewhere," she added. She thought about her own son, the same age as Eitan Yahalomi. "And if it had been the other way around? It's really hard." vid/cyj/mj/lba/dv
Asharq Al-Awsat
05-03-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
UN Food Agency Says it Has Less than 2 Weeks' Worth of Supplies in Gaza
The UN food agency says it only has enough food supplies in the Gaza Strip to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks, after Israel halted the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies. The Israeli blockade over the weekend is aimed at pressuring Hamas to accept an alternative ceasefire arrangement six weeks into their fragile truce. Israel allowed a surge of humanitarian aid during the first six weeks of the ceasefire. But the World Food Program said Wednesday that its stocks are low because it prioritized delivering food to the population. The UN agency also warned that its fuel stocks would only last for a few weeks. Here's the latest: Palestinians in Gaza welcome an Arab plan for rebuilding the territory Palestinians in the Gaza Strip welcomed Arab leaders' adoption of a plan to rebuild the territory without depopulating it. 'We are satisfied with these decisions and this summit,' said Atef Abu Zaher, from the southern city of Khan Younis. 'We are clinging to our land.' The plan advanced at the Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday is seen as an alternative to US President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians in other countries and redevelop it as a beach destination. WFP has enough food in Gaza to run kitchens for 2 weeks The World Food Program says it only has enough food supplies in the Gaza Strip to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks. Israel halted the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to the territory, home to some 2 million Palestinians, over the weekend to try and pressure Hamas to accept an alternative ceasefire arrangement six weeks into their fragile truce. Israel allowed a surge of humanitarian aid during the first six weeks of the ceasefire. But the WFP said Wednesday that its stocks are low because it prioritized delivering food to the population. The UN agency also warned that its fuel stocks would only last for a few weeks. Palestinians said prices spiked as people rushed to markets to stock up on supplies after Israel announced the tightening of its blockade. After more than 16 months of war, Gaza's population is entirely dependent on trucked-in food and other aid. Most are displaced from their homes, and many need shelter. Israelis bid farewell to hostage Ohad Yahalomi Israelis lined the streets for the funeral procession of hostage Ohad Yahalomi, the last of eight Israelis whose remains were returned during the first stage of the ceasefire with Hamas. Yahalomi, who was 49 when he was kidnapped, was shot in the leg as he and his family were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His wife and two daughters, one 10 and the other almost 2, escaped from militants attempting to take them into Gaza after running through fields for hours. Ohad and his oldest son, Eitan, then 12, were taken into Gaza but held separately. Eitan was released as part of a ceasefire in November 2023. Netanyahu's office said Yahalomi was killed in captivity without releasing more details. Yahalomi worked for decades with Israel's Nature and Parks Authority, and dozens of park rangers from across the country created a convoy from central Israel to the cemetery in Kibbutz Nir Oz. 'We always felt safe and protected when you were by our side,' his wife, Bat-Sheva Yahalomi, eulogized him. 'We never imagined that the darkness would come in the shape of hundreds of terrorists full of hate and it will succeed to extinguish you strong and precious spirit.' Israeli military's new chief of staff is sworn in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu oversaw the swearing-in ceremony of the new military chief of staff, reiterating the determination to achieve 'total victory' against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir will replace Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who resigned in part over the army's failures during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas' attack on southern Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. 'For many years, the army has fulfilled its missions. On October 7, the army failed,' Halevi said at the ceremony. He called on Israel to establish a state commission of inquiry to fully investigate the failures that led to the deadly attack. The Israeli military and Shin Bet have recently released their own inquiries, but Halevi stressed a national commission that includes the political leadership is needed to 'get to the root of the problems and enable corrections.'
