For more than 690 days, Jewish Federations have joined communities across North America and around the world in praying for every hostage taken from their families and their homeland on October 7.
 

Today, our hearts are broken as Israel brings home the bodies of two hostages recovered in an IDF operation in Gaza. One has been identified as Ilan Weiss; we still await the name of the second.
 

Ilan, 55, was deputy head of Kibbutz Be’eri’s emergency team and was killed while bravely defending his community. His body was then kidnapped by Hamas. We mourn together with his wife, Shiri, and daughter, Noga—both of whom were taken hostage and released in November 2023. Their pain is our pain, and their loss is our loss. We hope this brings some measure of closure to the family, which can now give Ilan a proper burial in Israel.
 

In this moment of deep grief, Jewish Federations stand in unwavering solidarity with Israel and the families of all the hostages. We will not stop praying, advocating, and working until every hostage is returned and every family made whole.