Slain Hostage Yair Yaakov's Family: "He Came Home, But Not the Way We Wanted"

A day after the recovery of the body of fallen hostage Yair Yaakov, may his memory be blessed, his family members issued a statement this evening (Thursday) in which they bid him farewell and spoke about achieving closure with his return for burial in Israel.

"I still can't believe I'm talking about the return to his homeland of Yaya, my beloved partner, after he was brutally murdered in captivity," said captivity survivor Merav Tal, Yair's partner. "We had a loving, flourishing, and happy home. Just the evening before, we celebrated his 59th birthday. Now I'll tell him again that I love him. Not in the way I wanted and not in the way we hoped for."

"Alongside Yaya's return, which despite everything is closure, my heart is with the 53 hostages who are still languishing in Gaza," she added. "I think about them every moment, pray for their safety, and wish with all my heart that they all return home."

Yagil, Yair's son, said sadly that "my father came home, but not the way we wanted. Dad was a simple man, with a huge heart. He loved the land of our country, the fields, nature, the small and simple things in life. All he wanted was to see us happy. Today we're saying goodbye to him with an aching heart, and it's hard to think that we won't be able to sit with him and laugh."

He further added that "within all this pain, we want to say thank you to the government and to the heroic IDF. We want to remind everyone that there are still 53 hostages who need to return. I know how it is. I was there. We'll always love you, Dad."