IDF soldier Tamir Nimrodi, 18, final Israeli hostage to be confirmed dead after remains returned

The family of a teenage Israeli soldier who spent more than two years thinking he may have survived the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, only found out that he had died when his remains were returned this week.

Tamir Nimrodi’s family had their worst fears confirmed Tuesday when the 18-year-old was one of three dead Israelis returned by Hamas — along with other remains that turned out not to be a hostage.

“This is the moment that we so feared, the moment I refused to believe would come,” Tamir’s father, Alon Nimrodi, told Israel’s Channel 12 in an emotional interview.

Nimrodi previously had no confirmation that his son, who was kidnapped from a military base during the Hamas atrocity, was dead, the Times of Israel reported.

“The whole time, I said if there was a 0.01 chance, I would burn the world for Tamir to come home alive and well,” the grieving dad said. “But unfortunately, we got the news,” he said.

Nimrodi’s father stressed just how important it was for the families of the remaining 21 deceased hostages to get similar confirmation and remains.

“We, like every one of the hostage families, never had the ability to give up or relax for even a single moment,” he said.

“For us, the journey ended in a terrible way — not like I had hoped — but there is a long struggle ahead for the release of 21 other hostages who are in the Gaza Strip, and we must continue to struggle until they all return home,” he said, at times through tears.

el fortunate – which is a terrible thing to say about your own son who was killed in Gaza, your eldest son who was kidnapped – but I mean to say that we are lucky to have received his body back.”

Before Nimrodi’s body was returned Tuesday, Israeli officials had expressed “grave concern” about his likely survival, according to the Times of Israel.

His was one of three bodies returned to Israel Tuesday night along with Eitan Levy and Uriel Baruch. A fourth body was also handed over, but Israeli officials determined the remains did not belong to any of the hostages.

Another four bodies were returned and identified Monday, hours after the 20 remaining living hostages were freed as part of a US-backed cease-fire deal.

Nimrodi completed 10 months of his military service before he was kidnapped from a military base and taken to Gaza on Oct. 7, according to the Hostage Families Forum, a group representing many of the hostages’ families.

He was just 18 at the time.

“Tamir was not supposed to be on base on October 7 but volunteered to stay for that weekend (which coincided with Simchat Torah) so his friends could celebrate the holiday at home with their families,” the Hostage Family Forum said.

In addition to his father, Tamir leaves behind his mother Herut and siblings Ami and Mika.