Body of hostage Lior Rudaeff returned to Israel: 'He will be buried in the land he set out to defend'

Lior Rudaeff is the deceased hostage who has been returned to Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced on Saturday morning.

There are currently five fallen hostages still in Gaza.

After identification, the IDF announced that Warrant Officer (Res.) Lior Rudaeff is an IDF fallen soldier. This information had not been published until now to ensure the success of the return operation.

Rudaeff was 61 years old when he fell. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Yaffa, his four children – Noam, Nadav, Bar, and Ben – and his three grandchildren, Tomer, Dagan, and Shai.

The PMO stated: “Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the IDF Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of deceased hostage, Warrant Officer (res.) Lior Rudaeff, of blessed memory, that their loved one had been returned to Israel and that his identification had been completed. The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Rudaeff family and all the families of the deceased hostages.”

His daughter, Noam Katz Rudaeff, said: “After 763 nightmare days – he has been brought home, to be buried in the soil he went out to defend.”

Rudaeff was born in Argentina and immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of seven, settling in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, where he built his home. Relatives describe him as a man who gave endlessly to those around him, volunteering for 40 years as an ambulance driver in the Eshkol Regional Council and serving as a member of Nir Yitzhak’s emergency response team. He was always the first to volunteer and offer help to anyone in need.

His family described Rudaeff as an honest man, with blue eyes, a wide smile, the look of an Argentine macho, and a huge heart. A man of giving, who loved cycling.

On the morning of October 7, Lior heard gunfire outside his home and immediately went out to help. The Nir Yitzhak emergency response team fought heroically near the kibbutz gate and managed to repel many terrorists. After a fierce battle, Lior was killed and abducted together with Tal Haimi, who has since been returned for burial.

Last Thursday, the PMO announced that the deceased hostages Amiram Cooper, abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sahar Baruch, abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri, were returned to Israel. The return of their remains took place while the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas faltered due to violations by the terrorist organization.

Additionally, last Monday, remains belonging to Ofir Tzarfati – a deceased hostage whose body was returned for burial in Israel in a rescue operation in November 2023 – were brought back to Israel. A drone from Division 252 recorded Hamas terrorists staging the recovery of his body.

The terrorists were seen digging with a tractor in Shejaiya, placing in the ground the body of the fallen hostage they had removed from a building, covering it with earth, and then calling Red Cross officials to witness the supposed recovery of an Israeli hostage’s body from the ground.

A security source said this week that Hamas is deliberately pursuing a policy of slow release of the fallen hostages, and that Israel has evidence of this, according to a Kan News report.