Sahar Baruch, an Israeli hostage killed during a failed IDF rescue operation from Hamas captivity in December 2023, will be laid to rest Sunday in Kibbutz Be’eri. On Saturday, retired Maj. Gen. Yossi Bachar — who served as deputy commander of the IDF’s Southern Command during the war — revealed for the first time that Baruch was his nephew.
In a Facebook post, Bachar shared a photo of his sister Tami and her four sons. “The tears are choking. Why must Tami endure all this pain?” he wrote. The image shows Tami with her sons: Idan, who was murdered on Oct. 7; Sahar, who was kidnapped and later killed in Gaza; and Gai and Niv, who survived. “Sahar was so close to coming home,” Bachar added. “And yet, even amid this pain, there’s a sense of relief. Now Tami, Roni, the brothers and our father have a place to mourn — Sahar will rest forever beside Idan, in the soil of Be’eri.”
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The picture of mother Tami and her four sons, including Sahar and Idan, who were murdered
Bachar’s mother, Geula, was also murdered during the Hamas-led assault on Oct. 7. He was at home in Be’eri that morning and joined the fight, arming himself with a neighbor’s weapon and attempting to rescue a wounded kibbutz member. He spent hours battling Hamas militants alongside another resident. Bachar later served under Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman through March 2024.
Baruch’s body was returned to Israel last Thursday along with that of Amiram Cooper, the last hostage from Nir Oz. On Friday, the Red Cross transferred additional remains believed to belong to hostages, but forensic testing ruled out any connection to Israeli hostages.
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Maj. Gen. Yossi Bachar last year, alongside then-commanding Maj. Gen. Finkelman and then-Defense Minister Gallant
(Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Ministry of Defense)
The Be’eri community remains scarred. Of the 29 residents kidnapped on Oct. 7, two — Meny Godard and Dror Or — are confirmed to be deceased and still held in Gaza. The kibbutz, once home to 1,000 residents, lost 101 people in the Hamas massacre. During the peak of the attack, between noon and 1 p.m. on Oct. 7, approximately 340 terrorists entered Be’eri. Some had initially aimed to reach the southern city of Netivot after leaving the Nova music festival but turned back and joined the assault on the kibbutz instead.
Today, Be’eri is one of five communities yet to complete its recovery. Its residents remain scattered across the country, and many are not expected to return until 2027.
First published: 11:08, 11.01.25