The Prime Minister's Office stated that the recovered hostage's body identified at the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv as belonging to Lior Rudaeff.
"IDF representatives informed his family that their loved one has been returned to Israel and his identification has been completed. The Israeli government shares in the profound grief of the Rudaeff family and all families of the hostages who have perished," the statement said.
“The Hamas terror organization must uphold its commitments to the mediators and return them as part of the agreement’s implementation. We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until all the hostages are brought home, every last one. May his memory be blessed.”
Lior was abducted from his home on October 7. In May 2024, his family was informed that he had been murdered in the surprise attack and that his body was taken to Gaza.
Lior was married to Yaffa for 38 years, father to Noam, Nadav, Bar and Ben, and grandfather to Tomer, Dagan, and Shai. The statement announcing his death described him as “a man of generosity and a huge heart for everyone around him. For 40 years, he volunteered as an ambulance driver in the Eshkol region. He was always the first to volunteer and lend a helping hand. He was Argentine at heart, a passionate cyclist, and an admirer of Shlomo Artzi.”
Noam Katz, Lior’s daughter, wrote on Instagram after the announcement of her father’s identification: “After 763 harrowing days, our Lior has returned home, to be buried in the soil he set out to defend on that black morning that changed our lives forever. Details about the funeral will be announced later. Thank you to all the good people who stood by us in the determined and humane fight to bring our Lior and all the other hostages home. The struggle is not over — Dror, Meni, Ran, Hadar, and Sothisak are still there.”
The IDF Spokesperson said: “According to the information and intelligence in our possession, Master Sergeant (res.) Lior Rudaeff, deputy security coordinator and member of the emergency squad in Nir Yitzhak, was killed in the battle to defend the kibbutz on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was taken by the Islamic Jihad terror organization. Lior, 61, was declared dead on May 7, 2024. He is survived by his wife, four children, three grandchildren, his father, a sister, and a brother.”
Rudaeff, born in Argentina, immigrated to Israel with his family at age 7, settling directly in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, where he built his home. Relatives said he was a man who gave to everyone around him and volunteered for 40 years as an ambulance driver in the Eshkol Regional Council and as a member of Nir Yitzhak’s emergency squad. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Lior “was always the first to volunteer and lend a helping hand to anyone in need.”
His family described him as an honest man with blue eyes, a wide smile, the look of an “Argentinian macho,” and a huge heart. A man of giving who loved cycling. Lior was married to his wife, Yaffa, for 38 years, and they had four children and three grandchildren. On the morning of October 7, Lior heard gunfire outside his home and immediately went to help. The Nir Yitzhak emergency squad fought bravely near the kibbutz gate and managed to repel many terrorists. After a fierce battle, Lior was killed and abducted along with the fallen hostage Tal Haimi, who has since been brought back for burial.
Lior, 61, is survived by his wife Yaffa, his four children Noam, Nadav, Bar, and Ben, and his three grandchildren, Tomer, Dagan, and Shai. This week, his son Bar said the family, as a coping mechanism, had “lowered expectations” regarding his return. “We developed a thick skin to avoid constant disappointment,” he said. “You can’t get your hopes up every day only to be crushed again. No normal person can endure that.”
Bar learned of his father’s murder only in March 2024. This week, he said the family “is focused on the struggle to keep this in the public consciousness. We’ve been fighting this battle for more than two years, so we’ve learned to recognize the signs early and understand on our own each evening whether it concerns us or not.” He added: “My father fell fighting to defend the kibbutz, to protect the people, the family. He fought, he was a hero, he fell as a hero, and the least he deserves is to return and be buried in the place where he grew up and in the land he defended. The struggle is not over until the last hostage is brought back from Gaza.”
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The hostages whose bodies remain in Gaza
(Photo: Israel police spokesman, Blue Ribbons)
His daughter Noam told Ynet on Sunday: “I expect nothing from Hamas. Hamas is a terror organization that repeatedly proves it cannot be expected to act fairly or humanely in the process of returning the hostages. My expectation is from the Israeli government, the one that signed the agreement, to use all the means of pressure and channels at its disposal to ensure the agreement is fully implemented and that the 11 fallen hostages still in Gaza are returned to us.”
Five hostages' bodies remain in Gaza: Sgt. 1st Class Ran Gvili, Lt. Hadar Goldin, Dror Or, Meny Godard and Sodhthisak Rinthalak.
First published: 08:44, 11.08.25