Who was Dror Or, the Israeli father who died as a hostage in the hands of Hamas?

Hamas had already taken their mother away from them. Noam, Alma and Yahli now know that their father will not come home either. Dror Or, a 49-year-old Israeli father, was declared dead almost seven months after being kidnapped by terrorists on October 7, 2023. Transmitted by the Be'eri kibbutz, where the family had lived for years, the News of his death was relayed this Friday by the Israeli authorities and several relatives.

Tall, slim, charming smile. In the photographs published in the media or on social networks, Dror Or looks like the ideal father. The forty-year-old worked as chef and cheesemaker at the Be'eri dairy, an artisanal cheese factory founded in 1991 on the kibbutz, where he lived with his wife Yonat and their three children Yahli, Noam and Alma, reports the Times of Israel. An entrepreneur, Yonat had created her own brand of furniture and carpentry, Ayuna.

Almost the entire family fell into the hands of Hamas on October 7. It is 6:25 a.m. when the sirens scream between the homes of this kibbutz of Be'eri where the family was based. Rocket fire is frequent here, less than 100 kilometers from the border with the Gaza Strip. As always in these cases, Dror and his wife Yonat take their children, Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, to the “mamad”, the anti-missile shelter. Only the eldest, Yahli, is absent. The young man volunteered for a year of national service with the IDF.

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Hamas terrorists are there to kill and kidnap. They set the house on fire, forcing Dror Or, his wife and their children out. According to a neighbor quoted by the Times of Israel, this is where the terrorists seize the children. A few days later, the body of Yonat, Dror's wife, was found in the area. The mother of Noam, Alma and Yahli was killed during the attack.

After a month and a half in captivity, Noam and Alma were released by Hamas on November 25 as part of a truce as part of the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Their cousin Liam, 18, also kidnapped on October 7, was released a few days later, on November 29.

Negotiations for a new truce and the release of other hostages have continued for several days, under the mediation of Qatar, the United States and Egypt. Yahli, Noam and Alma probably hoped that their dad could be traded. They must now mourn. And will even be deprived of their father's remains, held by Hamas in Gaza.