Two days after his body was returned from Gaza as part of the hostage deal and the ceasefire agreement, Ronen Engel was laid to rest Tuesday afternoon at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel. His daughter Mika Engel, 18, who survived 52 days in Hamas captivity, wept as she eulogized her father.
“Daddy, my father. I don’t want to accept or understand that you’ll never be with me again,” Mika said through tears. “That I’ll never hug you again, never call you ‘Dad’ again. It was you and me against the world—and now it’s just me against the world. The world that tore me into a million pieces and devours me. How can I face it without you?”
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'You were my oxygen. I’ve decided I’ll live for you': Mika Engel bids farewell to her father
She continued: “Part of my heart is broken. It hurts to breathe. You were my air, my oxygen. Everything is so empty without you. I hope you see how much I need you. I just want you to be here with me, to hug me one more time. I’ve decided I’ll live for you. I died on October 7 too, but only you stopped breathing.”
Engel’s wife, Karina Engel-Bart, who was freed from captivity along with Mika and their younger daughter Yuval, struggled to find words at the graveside.
“Ronen, how can you sum up your life in words?” she said. “You were the heart of the house. The one who always said, ‘It’ll be okay.’ The one who made us laugh, even on hard days, with your endless optimism and sharp humor. You always smiled and said, ‘I’m crazy but optimistic.’”
“The life beside you was an adventure—full of love, laughter, chaos, friends, and music,” she added. “Now the house is quiet. We try to be a bit like you. Every smile from Tom, Mika, and Yuval is a little bit of yours. So we’re not saying goodbye, just see you on the other side. Always look on the bright side of life.”
Yuval, Engel’s youngest daughter, also spoke at the funeral: “Dad, I’m glad you’re back, that you’ll stay forever here in the kibbutz you loved so much. You were always laughing, always optimistic. These were ten short but amazing years as your little girl. You’re my hero.”
Engel’s brother Dani recalled their childhood in Tel Aviv and the unbreakable bond between them. “We grew up together, shared a room for 14 years,” he said. “You were the funniest, wildest, most loyal friend, and an incredible father. You had ‘ALLWAYS’ tattooed on your arm—and after October 7, I finally understood how much that word really meant to you. You were abandoned, you went through hell, but at least now you’re home. We’ll go on without you, even though it hurts.”
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Dani Engel eulogizes his brother: 'You checked off everything you wanted, and you still had more to give. But they abandoned you'
Engel, 54, was born and raised in Tel Aviv and moved with his family to Nir Oz in 2010. On the morning of October 7, he left home armed with his personal weapon to defend the kibbutz. His wife and daughters were kidnapped separately before being reunited in Gaza. They were released in November 2023.
A photo of Mika in a pink tracksuit holding one of the Cunio twins under the eyes of Hamas gunmen became a symbol of the hostages’ ordeal. Ronen, a volunteer photographer for Magen David Adom and an avid motorcyclist, was confirmed killed in battle at Nir Oz four days after the Hamas massacre.
“Ronen wasn’t murdered,” Dani said after his body was identified. “He fought until his last drop of blood, until the last bullet in his gun.” Their last WhatsApp exchange on that fateful morning read simply: “We’re joking around in the shelter.”