Thousands of people attended on Sunday the funeral of Hanan Yablonka, 42, whose body was retrieved by the IDF from Gaza's Jabaliya alongside the remains of two other hostages.
In accordance with the family's request, participants marched from his parents' house in Tel Aviv to the city's Kiryat Shaul cemetery, marking their support for the captives still held by Hamas. During the funeral procession, attendees escorted the coffin with applause and waved the national flag.
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Thousands of mourners accompany hostage Hanan Yablonka on his final journey
(Photo: Yuval Chen)
Vered, Hanan's mother, tearfully eulogized: "Seeing this crowd, Hanan would know that everyone truly loved him. Hanan loved so many people, and it was impossible not to love him. Hanan, our beloved son, we stand here today to say goodbye to you. And I ask, how can we say goodbye to you? In our worst nightmares, we couldn't imagine such a thing. What wouldn't I give to hug you, kiss you and breathe you in? You have two amazing children, and I promise you that they will grow up to be happy and joyful despite the difficult farewell. This is not the ending I wanted, but at least you came home.
"Hanan, I want to tell you that today you are not just our son, you have become the son of the entire nation. Everyone knows you so well; many people are accompanying and saying goodbye to you. Today's march, the funeral procession, is in honor of all the captives who will return to us soon and as alive as possible. I want to thank the IDF soldiers who brought you back in a dangerous operation and wish them a safe return. I want to tell Hamas - you will never defeat us."
Another family member who eulogized Hanan was his 11-year-old nephew, Amor. "For eight months, I have been fighting for you, for eight months the longing hasn't stopped, for eight months I haven't stopped mentioning the name Hanan Yablonka," the nephew said in tears.
"Even when you weren't here, you made my dream of flying to New York come true and gave me the honor of speaking about you in front of important people. Because of you, I met many people who are now an important part of my life. Thank you for being part of my life, I'm really sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. I'm sorry you won't be able to come to my bar mitzvah."
In addition to Yablonka's body, IDF and Shin Bet forces also found the bodies of hostages Michelle Nisnbaum, 59, and Orion Hernandez, 30, in Jabaliya. The intelligence that led to the location of the bodies was obtained last week, and the IDF determined that the three were murdered on October 7—either at the moment of the abduction or on the way to captivity.
Michelle Nisnbaum was laid to rest Sunday morning at the Ashkelon cemetery, and Orion Hernandez will likely be laid to rest in his native Mexico.
Meanwhile, sources familiar with the hostage deal negotiations said over the weekend that the summit in Paris, from which Mossad Director David Barnea returned on Saturday, was "very successful."
According to them, there was an agreement to initiate the negotiations—and it was even decided that the talks would likely resume on Tuesday. However, the location of the talks has not yet been determined.
The sources noted that to secure a deal, "we must work around the clock." They explained that "we don't want a situation of stagnation and deadlock, because it's not good for the hostages. Their hourglass is running out." However, they cautioned, "we need to be realistic. There hasn't been a breakthrough yet."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the War Cabinet will convene Sunday evening to discuss the issue.