Shuki, the brother of hostage Ron Benjamin, whose body was recovered from the Gaza Strip, told Ynet on Saturday night that "we had great hope, and it blew up in our faces." According to the dead hostage's brother: "We are hurting and broken. We fought, we tried to do everything we could to bring Ron home alive, and we didn't succeed. I failed and I feel guilty."
Earlier on Saturday, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari announced the return of Benjamin's body, along with the bodies of Yitzhak Gelernter, Shani Louk, and Amit Buskila.
"Benjamin was murdered during the October 7 massacre at the Mefalsim Intersection, and his body was kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas terrorists," said Hagari. "After an identification procedure carried out by medical officials at the National Forensic Medicine Institute and the Israel Police, IDF representatives notified the family."
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Hostage Ron Benjamin's body was returned from Gaza in an IDF operation
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
Benjamin was married to Ayelet and was the father Shai, 25, and Gil, 21.
The family was updated almost two months after Hamas' attack that he was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. Benjamin, a resident of the central city of Rehovot, arrived at Kibbutz Be'eri near the Gaza Strip border on October 7 for a cycling trip and decided to return home when sirens began wailing.
His car, which was riddled with bullet holes, was found abandoned a few days later near the Mefalsim Intersection.
According to his family, in the first few weeks, they were told by the army "to prepare for the possibility that we will never know what happened to Ron." According to the information available to the family, his car was turned off at around 7:30, about 400 meters before the Mefalsim Intersection.
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Shuki Benjamin, brother of killed hostage Ron Benjamin, says he failed to bring his brother home alive and 'I feel guilty'
(Photo: Motti Kimchi)
The last sign of life from him was a voice message he sent to his daughter in which explosions can be heard in the background.
"I don't know where to go, it's over my head, you'll hear the explosions here. It's coming from Gaza, missiles over our heads," he is heard saying in the recording. "I'm in Be'eri, which is across from Gaza. Okay, I'm going out on the road. I don't know, I hope everything will be fine, bye."
Benjamin's daughter, Shai, previously told Ynet: "My father is a worrier at the highest level, always. When I lived at home and went out with friends, he always stayed awake waiting for me to come back; even if it was in the middle of the night. There is not a day that he would not write to me 'Good morning,' even when I lived abroad. We talked the whole time, and he checked where I was. Once, when my sister was in Eilat and not feeling well, he drove five hours to pick her up. He really is our best friend; sitting down for a beer with him is the most fun in the world. We loved doing so many things together."
She also said that her father loved to travel and listen to music. "All the bands I've been exposed to since childhood are thanks to him. He has drums, he's a drummer, he has a lot of hobbies. His last hobby was cycling, and that's what he really wanted to do on October 7, he was in Be'eri because there he arranged to ride with friends from his cycling group. People contacted me and said, 'What an amazing father you have, he was always present, he wanted to be with us and I miss his messages so much. I would give anything for just for one more 'good morning'."