‘Sorry, Tamiri’: Family of slain hostage Tamir Adar bids him farewell at Nir Oz funeral

Thousands gathered at Kibbutz Nir Oz Thursday for the funeral of Tamir Adar, a slain hostage whose body was returned from Gaza this week.

Adar, who served as the kibbutz’s deputy security coordinator, was killed while defending Nir Oz from invading Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. His body was abducted to Gaza by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group.

His fate had been unknown for several months, until his family was informed on January 5, 2024, that he had been killed in the attack and his body taken to the Strip.

The family sat shiva but was unable to hold a funeral.

Tamir is survived by his wife Hadas, children Asaf and Neta, parents Yael and Moshe, and three siblings, Nir, Inbar and Roni.

His grandmother, Yaffa Adar, was also kidnapped on October 7 — immortalized in one of the most enduring images of the attack — and released 48 days later.

Adar’s funeral, which was held Thursday in Nir Oz, was attended by freed hostages Yarden Bibas, Sagui Dekel-Chen, David Cunio and Yagil Yaakov as well as former IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi and President Isaac Herzog, who spoke at the ceremony.

Moshe Adar, Tamir’s father, said: “You’ve finally come home, to the place where you were born, where you grew up, where you built your family. To the place you fought for with supreme courage — until you could fight no more.”

Moshe noted that he and his son had served together in the kibbutz defense squad for many years, and were always told during training that in any incident, the squad would have to hold on until the army arrived.

“But the army didn’t come,” his father said. “I’m sorry, Tamiri — that a little earlier I left the security squad and wasn’t there with you when you needed me. I’m sorry.”

Herzog said: “Alongside this unfathomable sorrow, there is also a sense of steadfast pride, of admiration and honor for the member of the kibbutz security squad who charged forward and fought with courage and self-sacrifice in the face of the enemy that came in hordes that cursed day — to slaughter, torture, and kidnap the people of Kibbutz Nir Oz.

“Tamir went out to defend his home, quite literally. He and his comrades were there alone,” he said.

The president recalled Adar’s last words to his wife, Hadas: “You don’t open the door to anyone, even if it’s me asking you to open it.”

“He understood exactly what was happening,” Herzog said, adding that since October 7, the Adar family “led a heroic Israeli and international struggle” to free him from Gaza.

“Since that dreadful day — October 7 — in our many meetings with your family and with the Nir Oz community, we’ve heard again and again of the courage of the security squad fighters, you among them — and each time, we were moved and filled with pride anew,” Herzog said, addressing Tamir.

“I stand here — as president of the State of Israel — and I appeal for forgiveness,” he said. “Forgive us that you and your comrades in the security squad were left alone to face those human monsters. Forgive us that only after more than two years are we bringing you home, to your kibbutz. And forgive us — all of you, the men and women of the extraordinary Nir Oz — whom we have seen since that first day, in your grief and in your strength. Forgive us for not protecting you and your loved ones that bitter, fateful day.”

Herzog said he had discussed this week with visiting US Vice President JD Vance that everything necessary must be done to bring to proper burial all of the hostages whose bodies are still held in Gaza.

Vance “reaffirmed this sacred commitment, and also emphasized President [Donald] Trump’s and his team’s determination to bring about a dramatic change in our region and on our borders — so that Nir Oz and all the residents of the Gaza border area will finally know peace, security and a changed reality; also for the people of Gaza,” Herzog concluded.

Tamir’s sister, Roni Adar, told the crowd she could now eulogize her brother because he’d come back, laid to rest in the soil of the country he loved and had gone out to defend, and was now buried next to his best friend.

She thanked her brother for 23 years of life as siblings, for guiding her and lightening heavy moments: “I’m sorry no one came to help you,” she said. “I’m sorry you were there so many hours, alone, with just a few friends. I’m sorry you saw what happened in the kibbutz.”

Nir Adar, Tamir’s brother, began his eulogy by saying that he feels guilt and shame that he is able to bury Tamir while 13 other families are still waiting to receive their loved ones’ bodies.

“Even in this sacred moment, we continue to experience this terrible terror, with all its many faces,” Nir said. “I swear: I will not rest and I will not be silent until the last hostage is returned — because I know what it feels like to be abandoned, to be left behind, to be forgotten. And what we are fighting for here is something much greater.”

He then read aloud the names of the 13 hostages whose bodies are still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

Yael Adar, Tamir’s mother and a prominent activist for the return of the hostages, also eulogized her son: “You’re free, at home.”

“You’re here now, on the grass where you used to run around,” she said. “Beside the tree you used to climb, across from the babies’ house where you went when you were born, near the paths where you learned to walk, to run, to ride your bike — on the lawn where you rolled and laughed in joy on holidays, at celebrations, and in puddles after the rain.”

Yael called her son a defender of his community, saying that because of his actions on October 7 other people present at the funeral were alive.

Yael said she pictures Tamir in constant, focused motion, fighting along the paths they once walked together. She recalled asking him once if he truly needed to be in the local security squad, and his answer was that he did, and that he believed the army would arrive right away if needed.

“As a soldier, you trusted them — because that’s who you were,” she said. “And that morning, you were there alone… with just a handful of your friends.”

She said Tamir had been a child who loved nature, hiking, soccer and basketball, and the fields and crops of the kibbutz. He was a present, loving brother, son and grandson, and a devoted partner and father, she added.

Yael recalled coming to his and Hadas’s Nir Oz home a few weeks after October 7. She saw the destruction and devastation. She asked his forgiveness for how it ended and that it took two years to bring him home.

“Now that you are home, I will still seek the path to reconciliation, in prayer that the price we paid will not be in vain, that you will be the compass for healing, for unity, just as this nation united to fight for your return and to honor you today — the nation in all its diversity,” she said.

Hamas handed over Adar’s body on Tuesday night, along with the body of fellow Nir Oz resident Arie “Zalman” Zalmanowicz, 85, as part of the group’s obligations under the current ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

In accordance with the ceasefire deal, Hamas released the last 20 living hostages last Monday, within 72 hours of Israel’s withdrawal to the Yellow Line. Hamas has also returned the remains of 15 slain hostages during the ceasefire, but is still holding 13.

Israel has accused Hamas of withholding at least some of the remaining bodies deliberately, while the terror group insists that it has been unable to locate them due to the huge destruction in Gaza.