Almost two years after he was killed in captivity during a failed IDF operation to rescue him, Sahar Baruch will be laid to rest tomorrow (Sunday).

Yesterday Maj. Gen. (res.) Yossi Bachar, who served as deputy commander of Southern Command during the war, revealed for the first time that Sahar is his nephew.

In a post he published last night, Bachar detailed a photo of his sister Tami’s children: “The tears choke me, why does all this pain come to my dear sister Tami? This is a picture of happier days with Tami and her four sons. Idan was murdered. Sahar, who escaped the first wave, was abducted to Gaza, where on the night of December 8, 2023 he was killed during Sayeret Matkal’s rescue operation that failed. We will leave it to the unit’s members to detail what happened.”

“We will accompany Sahar to burial in Be’eri, next to Idan, in the same cemetery with Grandma Geula, Naomi, Carmel, and Dana, and the other dear and beloved people of Be’eri,” said Bachar, whose mother Geula was murdered in the October 7 massacre. “An unimaginable price of the war, and how close Sahar could have been now to returning. And yet, even in these moments of frustration and pain, one must admit, there is great relief here. We, Tami, and Roni, and the brothers Guy and Niv, and Grandpa, will have a place to cry, a place where Sahar will rest forever.”

Photos: Courtesy of the family, IDF SpokespersonenlargePhotos: Courtesy of the family, IDF Spokesperson

Bachar, a resident of Be’eri, was at his home on the morning of the massacre. He took the weapon of a member of the civilian security squad who was not at home and went out to try to rescue a kibbutz member who had been shot by Hamas. Together with another kibbutz member, he fought for hours against the Hamas forces who invaded the kibbutz. Afterwards he served as deputy to Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, commander of Southern Command during the war until March this year.

His nephew Sahar was returned to Israel on Thursday, alongside Amiram Cooper, the last members of Kibbutz Nir Oz who remained in Gaza. The Red Cross transferred the remains of three bodies to Israel, but examination at the Institute of Forensic Medicine revealed they did not belong to any of the hostages.