Tsachi Idan, who was murdered while in Hamas captivity and whose body was returned to Israel on Thursday, was laid to rest on Friday in Kibbutz Einat, next to his daughter Maayan, 18, who was murdered by Hamas on October 7.

Udi Idan, Tsachi's brother, gave a moving eulogy during the funeral, saying, "Tsachi, Today with great sorrow and a heavy heart we say goodbye to you, and our hearts still cannot comprehend the nightmare you experienced.”

“You are 12 years older than me - you're the eldest and I'm the youngest - but despite our age difference, you always looked after me. My first memory with you is of you carrying me on your bicycle on the way to kindergarten, and inevitably, I got my leg caught in the wheel and broke it.”

“Tsachi, you were a principled and modest man, a caring family man and an exemplary father. You didn't deserve such an end,” said Udi Idan.

“You didn't deserve to witness Maayan's murder, you didn't deserve to be held captive by Hamas monsters, and you didn't deserve the uncertainty about the fate of Gali, Shachar and Yael - something that was probably unbearable for you and made your captivity so much harder.”

“Tsachi, you had so much humor and joy for life. You were knowledgeable in almost every field, a true professional. Sitting with you, drinking beer or black coffee on your porch in Nahal Oz is something I'll miss for the rest of my life.”

“Your love for sports was contagious. Soccer and tennis were your favorites, and Hapoel Tel Aviv FC was your team, even though dad and I are Maccabi fans. You always knew how to maintain good sportsmanship, even though for all but a few years, the derby games were painted in yellow.”

“Tsachi, you taught me to love movies, parodies, fantasies and science fiction. For every situation in life, you had a quote from some movie that perfectly described the moment…You loved creating projects, planning and executing them. You had truly golden hands, a lot of talent, and you knew how to bring anything to fruition without any problem. We did countless projects together - at your house, at our parents' home, at Igal's, and even a few at my house.”

“You also knew how to give criticism. You would scold me for not visiting mom enough and immediately arrange lunch for us together at Café Greg in Sderot or at Japanika in Mavki'im. That's who you were - even your criticism immediately produced a solution,” Udi Idan continued.

“Tsachi, you always knew how to listen, advise, and help in any situation. Your love and care were unconditional, and they will always accompany me. Family was the most important thing to you; you were the glue that connected us.”

“You would call to check on me regularly, even though I almost never called you. On each of my birthdays, you would call me in the morning to wish me happy birthday and start the day. Although I've been missing you for over 16 months, I still can't grasp that we're saying goodbye to you today.”

“Along with the many longings, I also feel a lot of anger mixed with frustration. As far as I'm concerned, we lost the war already on October 7th,” said Tsachi’s brother. “You managed to survive captivity until after the first deal, the one in which you weren't released. The fact that we received you as a casualty and that we're saying goodbye to you today is a failure. You are proof that military pressure does not serve the most important goal of returning the hostages, but kills them. Only a comprehensive deal at an early stage would have brought you back to us alive.”

"I wish our country's leadership was worthy of our people, worthy of people like you. Rest in peace, my dear brother. We will continue to remember you, mention you, and love you always,” he concluded.

Tsachi was kidnapped on October 7, 2023 from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz while hiding in his safe room with his wife Gali and their three children. His eldest daughter Maayan was murdered in front of the family while trying to help her father guard the safe room door.

(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)