Thousands of Israelis turned out to mourn murdered hostages Idan Shtivi and Ilan Weiss as well as Sgt. First Class (res.) Ariel Lubliner as they were buried Monday at separate funerals around the country.
The bodies of Shtivi and Weiss were recovered from the Gaza Strip last week by the Israel Defense Forces, nearly two years after both were killed during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
Lubliner, a 34-year-old reserve soldier, was killed Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip, in a suspected friendly fire incident.
Shtivi, who was murdered at the Nova music festival, was buried following a funeral procession through the center of the country that was lined with Israelis waving flags and signs reading “Sorry.”
“Idan had a pure heart, he always saw others and cared for the weaker elements of society,” said his mother, Dalit, at his funeral ceremony in Kfar Ma’as. “He was full of generosity, so sensitive and loving. He was taken from the world at his peak. Idani, you are a child of God… I’m sorry I couldn’t watch over you and protect you.
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The 28-year-old was a nature lover and photography enthusiast who was about to begin his second year studying sustainability and government at Herzliya’s Reichman University. He leaves behind his parents, Eli and Dalit, three siblings and his girlfriend.
Family members and friends attend the funeral of slain Israeli hostage Idan Shtivi, in Kfar Ma’as, central Israel, September 1, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
“For an entire year I believed you were alive, how do we even begin to part with you?” said Shtivi’s girlfriend, Stav Levy in her eulogy. “My heart aches just to imagine what you went through.”
Shtivi had been listed as missing for a year until the army announced on October 7, 2024, that he had been killed, and his body abducted to Gaza.
Shtivi’s brother, Omri, recounted the past two years as unbearably painful, saying they were “nothing like I’ve ever experienced.”
“For two years I didn’t know what had happened to you, and now you’re here beside me, in nature, in the orchard, the place you loved most,” he said, addressing his sibling.
The funeral was attended by Shtivi’s family and friends, including several hostage families, as well as Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and coalition lawmakers Ofir Sofer and Eli Dallal.
Ilan Weiss (L) and Idan Shtivi (R) in undated photographs (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
Weiss’s funeral was held at Kibbutz Be’eri, with the event closed to the media.
The 56-year-old was the deputy head of the kibbutz’s local security team and was killed by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack. Terrorists spirited his body to Gaza and kidnapped his wife and daughter, who were later released during a truce in November 2023.
‘Thank you for living your life with us’
In the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Bialik, Lubliner was laid to rest before hundreds of mourners, after he was killed last week in the southern Gaza Strip.
The IDF indicated that it suspected the reservist was hit by a bullet accidentally discharged by another soldier. He was the 900th soldier killed across all fronts since the October 7 atrocities.
Sgt. First Class (res.) Ariel Lubliner (Israel Defense Forces)
Lubliner immigrated from Brazil some 10 years ago. He is survived by his wife Barbara, an immigrant from Spain, and their nine-month-old son, Lior.
Lubliner’s widow eulogized him while rocking their infant son on her hip. At one point during the funeral, nine-month-old Lior crawled onto his late father’s freshly-dug grave.
“Thank you for living your life with us, for making your decisions for the sake of your friends, your family, your work and the army,” she said in Spanish, teary-eyed and between long pauses.
Barbara Lubliner, widow of slain Israeli soldier Sergeant First Class (Res.) Ariel Lubliner attends her husband’s funeral at the Tzur Shalom Cemetery in Kiryat Bialik, September 1, 2025. (Itay Cohen/Flash90)
“Thank you for leaving me a little piece of you, we will be happy,” she promised her late husband as she kissed their child on the forehead.
In Hebrew, Barbara said that while he was alive, her late husband “requested that everyone enlist, including all the religious [Jews] in the country.”
Lubliner had been scheduled to finish the latest of numerous tours of reserve duty since October 7 on Sunday, Hebrew media reported, and his family was planning to travel to Brazil for a vacation. His most recent tour had begun in June.
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