Itzik (Yitzhak) Elgarat, who was murdered in Hamas captivity and was returned to Israel last week, will be laid to rest on Monday in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

At the beginning of the funeral, as the casket left Rishon Lezion toward Nir Oz, Itzik's brother, Dani, recited the Kaddish and cried. Thousands stood on the side of the road to the kibbutz holding Israeli flags to pay their respects.

During the public funeral service, Itzik's sister Rachel Dancyg, who survived the massacre, eulogized: "Itzik, my dear brother, now you are upstairs, together with Eli, Ori, Mom, and Dad. Looking at us, sending love. I am down here, a survivor from Kibbutz Nir Oz. I love you.

"The well-known Elgarat family - that's us. A strange family, a family of artists. Talented, leading, and living. You Itzik, you were the kibbutz handyman. You knew how to fix anything, to improvise with unusual talent. Itzik, Eli, and I came to the kibbutz in the 70s, after military service, many years ago. We gave a lot of ourselves, we got a lot - until it all ended. The land became a field of killing and blood. They took you and Alex Dancyg, the father of my children, to a dark tunnel, to hell. And you didn't return. We didn't succeed in saving you and our friends. We didn't succeed in fighting a stubborn, smug, and evil government. We failed," she added.

"So many of our friends disappeared on that day. Murdered, abducted, many children, total destruction. We didn't stay. On Saturday, October 7th, people who were thirsty for blood and hate entered my home. Eden, Achinoam, and I fought with our bodies and souls, and against all odds, we bettered them. We defeated them. Mati and Li, my little grandchildren, too, as well as Shiri and Yaron, were saved. We had a miracle," the sister lamented.

"You Itzik, you fought them ferociously. They took you alive. I really believed that you would return alive. You went too early. They tortured you, starved you, you left in great suffering that only bloodthirsty murderers could inflict. Itzik, friends upstairs, watch over us. You are the reason we are still here. You know, life down here isn't great. A neverending nightmare - until the last hostage, living and deceased, returns to us. I long for the state commission of inquiry which will investigate this crazy disgrace. There wasn't a mishap, there was complete blindness. I promise you that we won't give up and we will not be silent.

"I want to share a final memory with you, not too far away. Shortly before October 7th, my birthday, we went together to the city where we were born, Bat Yam. We laughed, we were excited, and we even cried. How symbolic, as if we parted from life. Itzik, thanks for the love and support that you gave to my children and grandchildren. You were a listening ear. My granddaughters talk about you. You are their good uncle. Your big heart, my brother Itzik, will accompany me for the rest of my life," he concluded.

Following the eulogies, Itzik will be laid to rest in the presence of his family and a limited number of friends.