The funeral of the baby Ravid Chaim Gez, who died two weeks after his mother Tze'ela, was murdered in a terrorist attack near Baruchin, is being held today (Thursday) at the Har Hamenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem.

Hananel Gez, Ravid Chaim's father and Tze'ela's husband, who was also wounded in the shooting that ultimately claimed the lives of two members of his family, stated at the funeral, "My dear Ravid Chaim, I stand here with a heart broken twice. What can one say? There is nothing to say. I was privileged to see Ravid Chaim yesterday in the NICU—he was so sweet. He opened his eyes for a few seconds, and he looked like an angel."

The father then addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly: "Prime Minister, I am speaking to you now. Where are you? I asked you to come to the NICU and see Ravid Chaim, to look into his eyes. Tomorrow, will there be another attack? Another family like mine? Has this become normal? Is this our reality now? We live in an upside-down world—we show mercy to the terrorists who murder us. You have time to listen to the whole world but not to the people who elected you."

Shaked, Tze'ela's sister, tearfully eulogized her nephew: "Our Ravid, such a beautiful child. From the moment I first saw you, you captured my heart. We waited so long for you, your mother waited so long for you. Usually, a baby is born to a mother who wraps him in love and hugs—but you didn’t get that. She wasn’t there beside you, to kiss you, to hold you."

"Now your mother is waiting for you up above. Now you’ll be protected and loved in a world that is all good. Send our love to Mommy, tell her we're sorry. I can’t believe I held you lifeless in my arms. No more burials, no more death, no more heartbreak. Please watch over us—both of you," she said.

Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan also spoke at the funeral and called on the government and security forces to act against the "root causes" of terrorism to prevent future attacks.

"Dear Raviv Chaim," Dagan said at the beginning of his remarks, "you never saw the light of day, never received a warm embrace from your loving mother. All of Israel accompanies you today to your resting place beside your mother, Tze'ela, of blessed memory. You are not only the holy child of your parents, Tze'ela and Hanan'el—you will forever be the holy child of the entire Jewish people."

Dagan expressed collective sorrow and remorse. "We’ve come to ask your forgiveness, Ravid Chaim, and that of your mother, for our failure as a community, a state, a nation to prevent this tragedy—for the fact that in the State of Israel, a woman on her way to give birth can be murdered with her unborn child."

Dagan shared that Hananel had made two requests: "First, to cry out that this cannot be resolved by only targeting the terrorists or even their village. There must be a complete overhaul to ensure this is the last time. And second, to strengthen and expand the settlements, to ensure the terrorists do not win. Even at this most painful time, Hananel is thinking about the nation of Israel. What a contrast between our people and the barbaric enemies who seek to destroy us."

He added a broader call to action: "This is a cry from every citizen of Israel and every decent human being worldwide. We demand that the government abandon surgical, symbolic responses and prioritize our citizens' lives over the comfort of our enemies. It is time for a full ground operation, to destroy illegal buildings that threaten families like the Gez family. Above all, we demand that the government uproot terrorism completely, to make it no longer worthwhile to murder Jews in Israel."

Turning back to the family, Dagan promised, "We will deepen our roots in this land. We will build a new community in your name. Your light will not be extinguished—it will shine even brighter through our love, our settlement, our goodness. Because we choose light while our enemies choose darkness. We choose life—they choose death."

"Raviv Chaim, the holy infant, you now join your holy mother Tze'ela, may God avenge her blood. We ask you both to cry out before the heavenly throne, to pray for Hanan'el, for your siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, for the community of Bruchin, for Samaria, for the IDF soldiers, the hostages, and all of Israel. Pray that our suffering ends and that your family finds the strength to go on. We promise to always embrace them—and that the light will always triumph over the darkness," Dagan concluded.