Bar Godard, the daughter of Meny Godard, an Israeli man murdered and abducted by Hamas in the October 7 terrorist attack, revealed Saturday during a rally in Tel Aviv that an IDF operation to retrieve her father’s body had failed.
Speaking at the Hostages Square protest calling for the release of the remaining captives, Godard described how a senior officer informed her family that Israeli troops had launched a daring mission to recover her father's remains but were unsuccessful. “In the end, he said, ‘I’m so sorry,’” she recounted.
Authorities confirmed on February 8, 2024, that Godard, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, was killed in the Hamas-led assault. His wife, Ayelet Godard, was also murdered in the attack on their home. The family had marked what would have been his 73rd birthday on the beach where he spent his youth and later worked as a lifeguard, saving countless lives.
Godard shared the emotional moment she learned of her father’s death. “On Monday afternoon, rumors started spreading—reports on Telegram about bodies being recovered,” she said. “Soon after, I saw his photo under the headline: ‘The body of Meny Godard recovered.’ I began to shake. That evening, our liaison officer called and said he was on his way. I thought maybe he would say my dad is alive. But the moment he opened the door, I understood—Dad isn’t coming back.”