By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – A group campaigning for the release of hostages held by Hamas said Tuesday that Lior Rudaeff, who was thought to be in Gaza captivity, was murdered on October 7, and his body taken to Gaza.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it “mourns the murder of Lior Rudaeff. May his memory be a blessing. We share in the profound grief of the Rudaeff family.”
The group said it “bows its head in sorrow” with “a broken heart” after determining that Rudaeff “was murdered on October 7 and that his body was kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas terrorists.”
The Forum said it would “continue providing assistance and support to Lior’s family during this immensely difficult time until his body is returned to Israel for a proper burial.”
Rudaeff, 61, will remembered for “a life dedicated to helping others, with a boundless heart and generosity that touched all who knew him. He volunteered as an ambulance driver for four decades, always the first to step up and lend a hand to anyone in need,” the Forum added in a statement seen by Worthy News.
An “Argentinian at heart,” Lior was a passionate cyclist and a fan of Shlomo Artzi, a famous Israeli folk rock musician, composer, music producer, radio host, and singer-songwriter.
“Lior was married to Yaffa for 38 years. He was a loving father to Noam, Nadav, Bar, and Ben and a doting grandfather to Tomer and Dagan,” the Forum stressed.
LIOR’S DEATH
The announcement of Lior’s death came hours after Hamas claimed a hostage previously confirmed deceased and another captive died of wounds from an Israeli attack.
Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida said Israeli-US-Canadian citizen Judith Weinstein, 70, and another unnamed hostage held in Gaza “succumbed to their wounds as a result of Israeli bombardment.”
Israel’s military has denied deliberately targeting civilians, saying Hamas is using innocent people, including hostages, as human shields.
Israel estimates that some 133 people are still in captivity, ranging from toddlers to the elderly, and that 36 of those hostages are confirmed dead.
But the fates of roughly 100 hostages, including also Israelis, foreign nationals, peace activists, soldiers, mothers, and grandfathers — are still unclear, some seven months after the start of the war, Israeli officials acknowledge.
The uncertainty is reportedly complicating negotiations but also leaving the hostages’ families in anguish.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
European Union leaders issued sharp warnings Monday after President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping 30% tariffs on EU imports by August 1, a move they say would severely disrupt nearly $2 trillion in annual trade between the two economic powerhouses.
President Donald Trump on Monday issued his strongest warning yet to Russia, threatening to impose sweeping 100% “secondary tariffs” on countries that continue to do business with Moscow if a peace agreement with Ukraine is not finalized within 50 days.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in coordination with the Shin Bet internal security agency, has carried out a sweeping two-week campaign targeting senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives involved in restoring the groups’ military infrastructure in Gaza, the military announced Sunday.
A Sunday morning turned into a tragedy in Lexington after a gunman shot a Kentucky state trooper and then opened fire inside Richmond Road Baptist Church, killing two women and injuring several others before being fatally shot by police.
Lobbyists with access to U.S. President Donald J. Trump are charging some of the world’s poorest nations millions of dollars to arrange humanitarian and military aid following the closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Worthy News learned.
Nigeria’s former president Muhammadu Buhari, who captured global headlines as the first opposition leader to unseat an incumbent at the ballot box, has died in London at the age of 82, after a long illness, officials confirmed Sunday.
The U.S. Senate has passed the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., that would expand federal tax filing relief to individuals affected by state-declared disasters.