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Our hearts are filled and relief with gratitude as we welcome home Alon Ohel, brothers Ariel and David Cunio, Avinatan Or, Bar Kupershtein, Eitan Horn, Eitan Mor, Elkana Bohbot, Evyatar David, twins Gali and Ziv Berman, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Maksym Harkin, Matan Angrest, Matan Zangauker, Nimrod Cohen, Omri Miran, Rom Braslvaski, Segev Kalfon, and Yosef-Chaim Ohana. May their return reaffirm our unwavering commitment never to abandon those left behind.

Alon Ohel (24), Avinatan Or (32), Bar Kupershtein (23), Eitan Mor (25), Elkana Bohbot (36), Evyatar David (24), Guy Gilboa-Dalal (24), Maksym Harkin (37), Rom Braslvaski (21), Segev Kalfon (27), and Yosef-Chaim Ohana (25) were abducted from the Nova Music Festival; brothers Ariel (28) and David Cunio (35), Eitan Horn (38), and Matan Zangauker (25) were taken from their houses at Kibbutz Nir Oz; twins Gali and Ziv Berman (28) were abducted from the Kibbutz Kfar Aza; Omri Miran (48) was abducted from Kibbutz Nahal Oz; and Sergeant Major Matan Angrest (22) and Cpl. Nimrod Cohen (21) were abducted in battle. They were released after being held hostage in Gaza for 738 brutal days.

Yet even in this moment of relief, our hearts remain broken as we mourn those who did not return alive.

We are at a loss for words to express the immense pain and sorrow we are experiencing as the nine fallen hostages, Agricultural Science student from Nepal Bipin Joshi z"l, Captain Daniel Shimon Peretz z"l, Eitan Levi z"l, Guy Illuz z"l, Inbar Hayman z"l, Major Muhammad Al-Atrash z"l, Tamir Nimrodi z"l, Uriel Baruch z"l, and Yossi Sharabi z"l, were returned to Israel.

Nepalese student Bipin Joshi z"l (25) was abducted from Kibbutz Alumim, where he tended orchards and plantations as part of an academic program. Captain Daniel Shimon Peretz z"l (22) and Major Muhammad Al-Atrash z”l (39) fell in battle and were abducted into Gaza on October 7. Eital Levi z"l (53) was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and abducted from his taxi, after he dropped a passenger off. Guy Illuz z"l (26) was abducted from the Nova Music Festival, from where Inbar Hayman z"l (27) was murdered and abducted. Tamir Nimrodi z"l (20) was kidnapped from a base in the Gaza envelope where he served as an Education NCO. Uriel Baruch z"l (35) was abducted from his car after leaving the Nova Music Festival. Yossi Sharabi z"l (53) was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri.

They were not just names; they were cherished individuals, deeply loved by their families, with dreams and futures stolen from them. We grieve not only for them, but for the other precious lives lost.

We will never forget. We will never forgive. Our hearts are shattered. We pray that with time, the families are able to heal.

We hold both a sacred duty and a moral right to bring all of our sisters and brothers home. We continue to pray and advocate for the immediate release and return of the remaining 19 fallen hostages still in captivity.

Click below to download the Prayer for the Return of Fallen Hostages from the Masorti Movement in Israel and the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel:

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