Hamas returned the remains of Eliyahu Margalit, known as the “cowboy” of Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Friday night, who was killed on October 7 and taken to Gaza, the IDF and the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir announced on Saturday.
“According to military intelligence, Hamas murdered Margalit on October 7, 2023, and his body was kidnapped into the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.
“Eliyahu, who was 75 years old at the time of his death, was abducted from the horse stables in Nir Oz as he arrived to feed the horses,” the IDF said.
“His death was pronounced on December 1, 2023. Margalit leaves behind a wife, three children, and three grandchildren. His daughter, Nili Margalit, was also abducted and returned in the framework of the hostage release agreement in November 2023,” the military added.
“The IDF wishes to express its deepest condolences to the family, and it continues to make every effort to return all the deceased hostages.”
“Margalit, nicknamed ‘Churchill’ by everyone, moved to Kibbutz Nir Oz with Hashomer Hatza’ir [a Zionist-socialist pioneering youth movement] in 1969,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
“He was a morning person at heart who ran Nir Oz’s cattle department and horse stables for many years,” it continued.
Margalit’s family said in a statement that “our beloved Eli has returned home, 742 days after he was murdered and kidnapped from Nir Oz.”
“We would like to thank the people of Israel and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum for their support during the long struggle to bring him home. We promise that we will not rest until the last of the remaining hostages is returned for burial in Israel,” they said.
Hamas refuses to commit to disarming, aims to keep grip on Gaza security
The Hamas terror group has failed to release the remains of every hostage as called for in the first stage of US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan. The terror group has claimed to have lost hostage remains and to have no ability to access bodies allegedly under buildings collapsed by Israeli airstrikes.
Another key issue is that Hamas officials have rejected calls for the terror group to withdraw from Gazan leadership, despite it initially being accepted as part of the deal. The comments to Reuters came after a wave of executions in the Gaza Strip as Hamas targeted those it claimed had collaborated with the Jewish state, including members of clans with a history of terrorism against Israel.
The terror organization intends to maintain security control in Gaza during an interim period, a senior Hamas official told Reuters, adding he could not commit to the group disarming - positions that reflect the difficulties facing US plans to secure an end to the war.
Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal also said the group was ready for a ceasefire of up to five years to rebuild devastated Gaza, with guarantees for what happens afterwards depending on Palestinians being given "horizons and hope" for statehood.