{"id":54056,"date":"2025-11-10T18:41:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T23:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/slain-hostage-lior-rudaeffs-family-pays-tribute-at-funeral\/10\/11\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T18:41:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T23:41:49","slug":"slain-hostage-lior-rudaeffs-family-pays-tribute-at-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/slain-hostage-lior-rudaeffs-family-pays-tribute-at-funeral\/10\/11\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Slain hostage Lior Rudaeff\u2019s family pays tribute at funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Thousands gathered to honor First Sergeant (res.) Lior Rudaeff at a funeral in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak&#8217;s cemetery, following the return of his remains after over two years in Hamas&#8217;s terror captivity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Deceased hostage <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/idf-prepares-receive-hostage-remains-173804172.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:First Sergeant (res.) Lior Rudaeff;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">First Sergeant (res.) Lior Rudaeff<\/a> was the &#8220;glue that held our family together,&#8221; his widow, Yafa Rudaeff, eulogized at his funeral in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/lior-rudaeff-grandfather-died-protecting-085352565.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Thank you for 41 years together, through good times and bad. Your journey in this world ended far too soon, and I want to ask your forgiveness,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She commented on how relieved she is that her husband can receive the &#8220;dignified burial [he] deserves in the land [he] defended and fought for.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I never prayed for this, even after we received word that you were killed, my mind understood, but my heart refused to believe,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Giora Rudaeff, father of deceased hostage First Sergeant (res.) Lior Rudaeff, speaks at his son&#8217;s funeral, November 10, 2025. (credit: Uriel Even Sapir)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Other members of the Rudaeff family, including Lior&#8217;s father, Giora, his widow, Yafa, his daughter, Noam, and his sons, Nadav and Ben, eulogized him during the ceremony.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The rage that this happened to you, that the state wasn&#8217;t there, that the army that promised to be there within minutes&#8230; 763 days that they abandoned you. It was too long a journey, too painful, a journey with no good ending, but finally, it has an ending,&#8221; Noam said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She also told her deceased father about his &#8220;new granddaughter, Shay,&#8221; who is &#8220;feisty just like you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">&#8216;We fought for you like you fought for us,&#8217; son Nadav deceased hostage father<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We fought for you, Dad. You wouldn&#8217;t believe how far we went and what we did for you. We fought for you like you fought for us on that cursed day. You were always the first to leave and the last to return. I have so much to tell you, but that time will come,&#8221; Nadav said, apologizing that he did not tell his father enough times how much he loved him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry I wasn&#8217;t here that morning. You were my safe place for 23 years, and since then, I feel a bit lost, but I know that I&#8217;m not giving up. I&#8217;m taking care of myself and surrounding myself with good people,&#8221; Ben said.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">MDA ambulance donated in his honor<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The funeral procession also included a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/could-done-more-mda-paramedics-203102150.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Magen David Adom;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Magen David Adom<\/a> ambulance donated in Rudaeff&#8217;s memory, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said. Rudaeff volunteered with MDA as an ambulance driver.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/glue-held-family-together-slain-215946965.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thousands gathered to honor First Sergeant (res.) Lior Rudaeff at a funeral in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak&rsquo;s cemetery, following the return of his<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/slain-hostage-lior-rudaeffs-family-pays-tribute-at-funeral\/10\/11\/2025\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/jerusalem_post_articles_818\/6a4628698c7edc1eb0965994f0ab824b","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54056"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}