MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine hostage in Gaza confirmed dead

Lior Rudaeff “was always the first to volunteer and help everyone” (social media photo)

Argentine national Lior Rudaeff, one of the victims believed to be in the hands of the terrorist group Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, incursion into Israeli territory, was actually killed during that attack, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires confirmed Wednesday. Aged 67, Rudaeff became the 38th fatality out of the 132 people kidnapped into Gaza.

”His body was kidnapped and remains in Gaza for seven months. Lior leaves behind his wife, four children (Noam, Nadav, Bar, and Ben), and grandchildren. In this difficult moment we accompany his family and relatives in Argentina and Israel,“ the diplomatic mission said through a statement.

The Forum for Hostages and Missing Families said that Rudaeff ”was murdered on October 7 and that his body is still in the hands of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), according to the newspaper 'The Times of Israel'.“

”From the [Delegation of Argentine-Israeli Associations] DAIA we express our deepest sadness for the death of our compatriot Lior Rudaeff, cruelly murdered by the Hamas terrorist machine. We extend our love and condolences to his family. May his memory be a blessing and may he rest in peace in Israel,“ the Buenos Aires-based Jewish organization posted.

Rudaeff worked as an ambulance driver and volunteer medic. He was together with four other colleagues of the emergency squad at the Nir Yitzhak community at the time of the invasion. He also owned a plastic products factory, having moved to Israel with his parents when he was 8.

”Rudaeff, a generous man with a big heart for everyone around him, volunteered for 40 years as an ambulance driver in Eshkol [near the Gaza border],“ stressed the Families Forum. ”Everywhere he went, he was always the first to volunteer and help everyone.“ He was also an ”Argentine at heart.“

Hours before hearing the news, his wife Yaffa had posted a message on Facebook: ”7 months, I want Lior home! A complex month, your father will soon celebrate his 89th birthday, Dagan will soon celebrate his 5th birthday and Shay is already two months old! Independence Day is your and the late Tal's holiday. We miss your energy, we miss family gatherings because nothing is the same without you. My beloved, wait, let's not lose hope for a moment, and we will keep fighting until you return.”