Meny Godard, 73, from Kibbutz Be’eri, was identified as the hostage whose remains were returned to Israel from Gaza on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed.
The IDF officially confirmed Godard’s death on December 8, 2023. He and his wife, Ayelet Godard, 63, were slain during Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Godard is survived by his children, Gal, Bar, Mor, and Goni, and by his seven grandchildren.
According to Kibbutz Be’eri, the couple’s home was set on fire in the early hours of the massacre, forcing them to escape their safe room. Terrorists were waiting outside their home, killing Godard on sight. His remains were then kidnapped to Gaza.
His wife was able to conceal herself in nearby shrubbery for a while, but she was eventually discovered and killed as well.
“The Hostages and Missing Families Forum bows its head in sorrow and shares in the profound grief of the Godard family. There are no words to express the depth of this pain. The hostages have no time. We must bring them all home, now,” it stated in a post eulogizing Godard.
“Kibbutz Be’eri embraces the Godard family at a complex time with the news of Meny’s return from Hamas captivity. This is the closing of a circle that the family has been waiting for throughout 769 painful days, during which they held on to hope without strength for too long a time,” a kibbutz spokesperson said.
“We hope that now you will find comfort in bringing your father to Kibbutz Be’eri, which he loved so much, to rest beside your beloved mother, Ayelet,” Be’eri’s community head, Ofer Gitai, said in a message addressed to the Godard family.
“We hope that now you will find some peace and begin to recover from that black Saturday which lasted almost 800 days for you,” he added.
“Kibbutz Be’eri will continue to fight and demand the return of the three hostages still in Gaza, and it waits with bated breath to bring Dror Or, may he rest in peace, to be buried in the land of Be’eri. Only when they all return will the recovery of Be’eri begin,” the statement read.
Before Godard’s remains were taken for identification at the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, the IDF held a brief military ceremony with the participation of the military’s chief rabbi.
With Godard’s return, three deceased hostages still remain in Gaza: Ran Gvili, 24, Dror Or, 48, and Sudthisak Rinthalak, 43.
Hamas knows whereabouts of hostage remains
On Wednesday, sources familiar with the issue told public broadcaster KAN News that Hamas had information regarding the whereabouts of each of the remaining bodies in the Gaza Strip.
Pressure must be exerted on Hamas to return the remains, and Israel should not compromise, these sources told KAN.