The hostage whose remains were returned Tuesday from the Gaza Strip to Israel has been identified as Dror Or, 48, from Kibbutz Be’eri. Or was murdered on October 7 and his body was taken to Gaza from Kibbutz Be’eri. Islamic Jihad said his body was located in the Nuseirat area in central Gaza.
At first, Or was listed as a hostage, but 208 days later his family was told he was no longer alive. He was the father of three children: Yeheli, Noam and Alma. His partner, Yonat Or, was also killed the morning of the terror attack. Two of their children, Alma and Noam, were abducted to Gaza and released in the hostage deal in November 2023.
Or managed Be’eri’s dairy for about 15 years and produced its boutique cheeses. His family described him as “a man of peace, creativity and love.”
After the October 7, terror attack, contact was lost with Or and with Yonat, Noam and Alma. Two weeks later, the family was told Yonat’s body had been found and that Dror, Noam and Alma had been abducted. In May 2024, about six months after the children returned from captivity, Kibbutz Be’eri announced that Or had been murdered on October 7. His eldest son, Yeheli, who was then in a pre-military service program in northern Israel, survived.
Or’s father, Yuval, said last month he knew it would take time to bring his son back because it was necessary to locate him in “a known but wide area.” The family received periodic updates on the search but feared that a renewed war would prevent his return. Now, they have been reunited with him.
Or’s brother, Elad, said at a rally in Hostages' Square last Saturday that he was trying to remind himself it was possible to bring Dror home, and that Dror deserved a final honor. He urged that the fragile ceasefire not collapse and called for continued international cooperation and full-scale search and recovery efforts without delay.
Or’s mother, Dorit, said at a recent rally that it was hard to be among the last families still waiting. She said the fear and tension grew each day, and that the family longed to bring Dror home for burial in Be’eri alongside Yonat. She said the children and the extended family needed that closure.
Two hostage bodies remain in Gaza: Master Sgt. Ran Gvili and Sudthisak Rinthalak.
Gvili, 24, from Meitar, a YSAM fighter, was killed in battle at Kibbutz Alumim. He fought despite being injured and due for surgery after a motorcycle accident. He managed to save dozens of people from the Re’im music festival before he was killed and his body was taken to Gaza. He served about two years in the Negev YSAM unit of the Southern District police and was assigned to its motorcycle platoon. He is survived by his parents, Itzik and Talik, and two siblings, Omri and Shira.
Rinthalak, 43, a Thai citizen, was murdered during the October 7 massacre in Be’eri’s orchards and abducted to Gaza. He worked for years in agriculture and came to Israel in 2017 to help support his family.