Yonatan Samerano will be laid to rest this evening (Tuesday), 627 days after he was murdered and kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
The eulogies will be delivered by the President of Israel and Yonatan's friends - Yuval, Dana, Mai, Boaz, and Ori. Alongside the eulogies, songs will be performed by David D'Or, Kobi Aflalo, and Hanan Ben Ari.
Following the eulogies, his family members will speak: his father, Kobi Samerano, his brother, Yair, and his mother, Ayelet.
After the eulogies, the funeral procession will proceed on foot towards the Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery, where Yonatan will be buried. The burial ceremony will be led by former Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau.
President Isaac Herzog stated in his eulogy: "I stand here at the funeral of the late Yonatan Samerano, and as President of the State of Israel, on behalf of the State of Israel, I ask Yonatan—and with him, Ofra Keidar and Sergeant Shay Levinson of blessed memory- for forgiveness. Forgiveness that the State of Israel did not protect you. Forgiveness that we did not manage to rescue you from the hands of the murderers. Forgiveness that it took so long to bring you back from the clutches of these human monsters."
"At this turbulent and historic moment, I remind us all: there is no true and complete victory until the last of our hostages returns - whether to the warm embrace of their families, or to be laid to rest in dignity. I swear here, in the name of the entire nation: there is no force on earth that will make us forget our tortured loved ones who remain there.
"I call from here to the decision-makers: we are at a critical moment. Now is the time to continue acting with determination, creativity, and urgency—by every means and with all our strength—until they are brought home," Herzog said.
Ayelet Samerano, Yonatan's mother, said: "Yonatan, my Yonatan, connected by the umbilical cord from the moment of your birth until now. How many phone calls a day did you make to me? When the terrible event began on October 7th, there was no call. It's been a year and eight months since you were kidnapped, and I imagine you calling. You sent me motivation notes and provisions for the journey, you sent me missions of unity, of bringing hearts together —and one enormous mission of teaching what faith is."
"You were kidnapped by UNRWA, a terror organization in humanitarian disguise, and you took care of all the people of Israel with the mission you assigned me—to make sure they're gone. All year and eight months I stood firm in faith that you were alive; I wouldn't accept otherwise. In the last month, you took me on a special journey, the signs that you were returning grew stronger.
"On your Hebrew birthday, I knew that was it, that the journey was over. I knew you had returned even before you announced it. I waited for the phone call from the officers, and then this time you called. You sent us a missile fragment to the entrance of the house, you pushed everyone aside and insisted on announcing before them. And here I stand before you and understand what I didn't understand the whole time—I was right, you are alive. They returned your body, but your soul isn't silent—it always was and will remain with me forever.
"Today begins a different journey. I won't be able to smell you, hug you, or kiss you. But I will continue to talk with you, and together we will fulfill all your dreams. Your dreams and aspirations are so diverse and touch everything. They will reach everyone, just as you touched everyone. They tell me you're there close to God; I have no doubt you'll succeed in conquering even the greatest of all.
"Yonatan, you have a huge new family since October 7th. You have brothers and one sister still there who were beside you. 50 in number. I have no doubt you'll do everything to protect them; you'll make sure in your special way that they return quickly. Watch over the world for us, mama's boy, watch over us. Yonatan, you are life, and life from now and forever is Yonatan."
Kobi Samerano, Yonatan's father, said: "My Yonatan, we were privileged to have 21 years and four months to grow up beside you, to love you. Even when you were no longer here, you continued to change, to lead, and to make a difference—that was who you were. Song, music, emotion, and love—that's how you connected with people, that's how you helped others flourish, especially young artists. You always knew how to see those who weren't seen—and I'm trying to continue what you started."
"I want to express deep gratitude to Israel's heroes who fought to bring back my son, to the bereaved families who lost their most precious ones. To the Government of Israel, to the Prime Minister, to the security forces and the heroic IDF soldiers, to the wounded IDF soldiers who only think about when they'll return to fight and bring all the hostages home. I want to thank all the people of Israel who carried us on wings of prayer, hope, and faith. Thank you to our family and dear friends who supported us throughout this entire journey.
"To our new family—the hostage families—a family we didn't choose, but our terrible shared fate has connected us forever. I am with you until the last hostage is home, the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial. For the sake of our angels, we must bring them all home, defeat our enemies with security and hope for better days. The people of Israel live forever."
Yair Samerano, Yonatan's brother. said: "Yonatan, you're my brother forever, and I'm happy it's you and no one else. You're the best of all of us. And it's a shame I'm saying this in hindsight. I hope you're doing well up there."
"I want to please say a few more sentences about the 50 hostages who are still in Hamas captivity. It's everyone's job to go out every Saturday to Hostages Square and do everything possible to bring them back, regardless of religion, race, or gender. Everyone needs to be home!
"We are a nation of superheroes, but a superhero is afraid—afraid of death—to go on a mission to rescue living hostages. Even Superman had a 50 percent chance of failure. Enough with the bullshit! Bring them all back. This situation cannot continue any longer! There's no right or left here, there's only straight ahead, as Eli Sharabi said. This reality must end for all 50 families. All the hostages must return today, for their families' sake."
The bodies of three hostages, Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano, and Staff Sergeant Shay Levinson, were rescued in a special operation carried out by the ISA and the IDF on Saturday and returned to Israel.