Returned hostage Dror Or laid to rest in Kibbutz Be’eri

Or’s remains were returned to Israel by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas via the Red Cross last week.

Dozens of Eshkol Municipality residents gathered on Sunday at the Re’im and Be’eri junctions to escort Dror Or, the third-to-last hostage, on his journey to be laid to rest.

Or’s remains were returned to Israel by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas via the Red Cross last week.

“Today, after over two years of pain and suffering, Dror Or, the final hostage taken from Kibbutz Be’eri during the massacre, is finally laid to eternal rest in the ground of the kibbutz he so deeply loved,” President Isaac Herzog said at Or’s funeral.

Father, cheesemaker, yoga instructor: Who was Gaza hostage Dror Or?

Born in Kibbutz Re’im, Or, 48, moved to Tel Aviv to pursue his culinary studies as a young adult. He met his wife, who was from Be’eri, and the family initially lived in Tel Aviv before returning to Yonat Or’s hometown.

Or initially worked in the kibbutz’s printing house before turning back to the culinary arts. He was a chef and cheesemaker in Kibbutz Be’eri, at Be’eri Dairy – an award-winning artisanal cheesemaking operation. He attended Tadmor Culinary, Hotelier, and Tourism School before studying cheesemaking in France and Italy.

Or enjoyed world travel, basketball, and yoga. He was a certified yoga instructor and practiced for 20 years.

Or was murdered on October 7 and taken captive from Kibbutz Be’eri alongside two of his children, Noam, 17, and Alma, 13. His wife, Yonat Or, was also murdered during the massacre, but her remains were not taken hostage.

Esther Davis contributed to this report.