Gaza hostage Dror Or's remains were returned to Israel on Tuesday and identified by authorities on Wednesday morning, bringing closure to his family after more than two years of captivity.
Or, 48, was murdered on October 7 and taken captive from Kibbutz Be’eri alongside two of his children, Noam, 17, and Alma, 13. His wife, Yonat Or, was also murdered during the massacre, but her remains were not taken hostage.
The Or family was forced to exit their safe room after terrorists set the house on fire. Or and his wife decided to send the children out the window first in the hopes that if they could split up, they might be able to escape. A neighbor saw the terrorists intercept the family and take them hostage.
Their eldest son, Yahli Or, was in northern Israel at the time of the attack, volunteering in a year of national service. Noam and Alma Or were released in November 2023 in a temporary ceasefire agreement.
In May 2024, a committee of experts from the Health Ministry, intelligence services, Israel Police, the Religious Services Ministry, and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel determined that Or was murdered on October 7.
After the confirmation of his death, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that “the Israeli government must do everything, so that Dror and the other (then) 37 murdered hostages receive their last respects and burial in Israel.”
Who was Dror Or?
Born in Kibbutz Re’im, Or moved to Tel Aviv to pursue his culinary studies as a young adult. He met his wife, who was from Be’eri, and the family initially lived in Tel Aviv before returning to Yonat Or's hometown.
Or initially worked in the kibbutz’s printing house before turning back to the culinary arts. He was a chef and cheesemaker in Kibbutz Be’eri, at Be’eri Dairy - an award-winning artisanal cheesemaking operation. He attended Tadmor Culinary, Hotelier, and Tourism School before studying cheesemaking in France and Italy.
Or enjoyed world travel, basketball, and yoga. He was a certified yoga instructor and practiced for 20 years.
Or was “loved and wonderful, at the peak of his life, as a father, a family man, as a culinary producer, as an excellent friend,” his brother eulogized to Army Radio.
“When Or arrived somewhere, any friction would disappear,” his parents said, describing how “he had this inner peace ever since he was a child… there was always a feeling with him that everything would be okay."
Or’s family has not been able to hold a preliminary funeral.