Nation mourns its fallen soldiers: Hundreds of Israelis flocked to the home of the Regev family in Kiryat Motzkin, near Haifa, throughout the day to offer their condolences to relatives of fallen IDF soldier Eldad Regev. The visitors included teenagers and children who showed up throughout the day and lit memorial candles. At one point, IDF representatives also arrived in the area and posted notices informing residents of the funeral arrangements. A short while after the abduction of IDF reservists Eldad Regav and Ehud Goldwasser, neighbors in Regev's building posted a huge poster of him with a note saying: "Eldad, we're not forgetting you and we're waiting for the day you return home!" However, once the tragic news of Regev's death arrived, a new message was added: "Dear Eldad, indeed, you came back home. We so much wanted it to be different. Yet now you are here with us." The Goldwasser family home in Nahariya also drew visitors throughout the day, including two busloads of Jewish teenagers from the United States currently in Israel in the framework of various projects. The teenagers arrived at the home, lit memorial candles, and heard more details about the abductions. One of the guides of the Jewish teenagers said the group's plans were changed after hearing about the prisoner swap: "We were supposed to be in the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) today, but we decided to change our plans and arrive here, to express our empathy with the families." 'Shocked and in pain' Meanwhile, a group of 40 teenagers involved in a Jewish Agency project, half of them Americans from Orlando, Florida arrived at Regev's street. Shani Schneider, 15, told Ynet: "The friends from Orlando arrived in Israel for 10 days, and ever since the abduction two years ago they followed what was going on through the media. This morning, when we heard that Eldad and Udi are coming back in coffins, we observed a moment of silence and waited for the evening in order to come here together and light a candle in their memory." Schneider said that it was important to her American friends to see where Eldad lived and "understand the pain of his family and friends." "Following recent media reports, we imagined how all of this will end," she said. "Yet even after it happens, you're still shocked and in pain." Local residents continued to flock to the Regev home Wednesday evening, even though the family was away at IDF Base Shraga, where the coffins of the dead soldiers were brought. Yossi, a local resident, watched on as more teenagers and children arrived in the neighborhood and said they reminded him of the teenagers lighting candles in the wake of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. "Look how sad they are…how connected they are to the difficult story of Eldad and Udi," he said. "As young citizens they understand that the State of Israel has a moral obligation towards these soldiers, and even if it brought them back in a coffin, it kept its promise." Meanwhile, flags around town were lowered to half mast and municipal officials pledged to offer any assistance they could in order to help the Regev family deal with the difficult days ahead. Thousands expected at funerals After a long and painful day where they realized they will never again see their loved ones, the Regev and Goldwasser families returned to their homes Wednesday evening. Yet relatives are comforted by the fact that for the first time in two years, their sons will be watched by friendly eyes – the coffins have been placed at an IDF base, draped in flags, with military rabbis remaining next to them throughout the night to read psalms. We salute you (Photo: AP) IDF officials have started to prepare for the military funerals to be held Thursday. Udi Goldwasser will be laid to rest at 10 am in Nahariya, while Eldad Regev will be laid to rest at 2 pm in Haifa. IDF Spokesman Avihu Benayahu said: We are preparing for thousands of people seeking to take part in the funeral. Eldad and Udi's comrades, who are currently on an active tour of reserve duty, have been released so they can take part in the funerals. Similarly to the funerals of other casualties of the Second Lebanon War, there will be no eulogizes by senior officials in Thursdays ceremonies instead, Regev and Goldwasser will be eulogized by their relatives, friends, and commanders. In addition, 32,000 members of the Scouts, who are in summer camps around the country at this time, will observe a moment of silence during the funerals. Sharon Roffe-Ofir, Hagai Einav, Moran Zelikovich, and Ahiya Raved contributed to the story