🔗 Share this article

While Michel Illouz carefully navigated through the crowds beneath the Mediterranean pines and date palms at the cemetery in Ra'anana, a urban center located 13 miles north of Tel Aviv, he expressed gratitude to countless visitors as he could.

Earlier he provided an welcoming message to the nation's citizens to accompany his loved ones in mourning his twenty-six-year-old son, Guy, whose physical form had been brought back from Gaza on Monday.

Massive Turnout

Numerous people answered the call. They lined the streets, followed the hearse carrying his body, and arrived at the cemetery in such significant numbers that the original plan to stage the memorial indoors had to be discarded.

Rather, the event was conducted outside, with the background of the chorus of avian melodies.

Significant Milestone

This signified the first funeral since the final two dozen captives were released from Gaza, together with several deceased individuals. Additional more than twenty of the fallen captives are still unaccounted for, but at the very minimum this family now had a designated location to grieve and commemorate their son, according to friends.

Sorrowful Account

Guy Illouz, a performer and audio engineer, had been targeted in his posterior at the Nova concert event during the Hamas assault on October 7, 2023. Before the tragedy unfolded, he had reached out to his father from a hiding place to tell him he cared; to bid farewell. He was taken hostage, and based on those captured simultaneously, he later died from his wounds due to medical neglect.

Family Perspective

A family friend of the Illouz household, Michelle, fifty years old, mentioned that it had been extremely important to them that individuals came today. The Illouz relatives, including Guy's two younger sisters and brother, had undertaken the traditional grieving process, the extended period of grieving, after learning of his demise in December of the year before. But now that Guy was ultimately back with them, they desired "caring community again."

"This brings me comfort that you joined us," said Michel. "We don't take it for granted."

Parent's Homage

He turned to his son. "My Guy-shuk," he expressed, using a loving expression, "it's challenging for me to envision the days ahead without you. They took you from me – they killed you – they kidnapped me and stole my identity and murdered my soul and feelings."

"I've been left hollow since that pointless violence by those evil terrorists when they caught you and told you to turn around, and then simply fired two needless bullets into your back."

Last Farewell

"So I found myself this morning, heading toward Abu Kabir medical examiner's office to verify your remains and say goodbye. They took off the covering, and the first thing I noticed was that familiar expression, that positive outlook, that calm demeanor and nobility that so characterized you."

"I made contact, tried to sense your aroma, tenderly touched all areas in your body. I saw you, I was in private with you, and yes, I felt with total assurance that it was you. Yes, I know, Guy-shuk, that you've returned to us. You've come back to your relatives' care, to all your close associates, and to the millions of citizens whose hearts your experience touched."

Family Strength

Throughout the beginning phase of the memorial, Illouz had focused entirely on comforting his junior family members. He tenderly caressed the strands of his girls, supported his male child, demonstrated love and maintained composure for them. But then his emotions surfaced.

Precious Moments

"I'll miss so much traveling with you through this land, feeling you, hearing your music, relaxing in mountainous areas and activating the stove to make coffee the way only you knew how – 'Papa, do you see the coffee foam? You have to boil it gently, let the foam rise, then simmer it additionally. Mix the beverage with spinning actions' – and then your grin while enjoying the drink and your pleasure in every particular taste."

"Prior to my departure Abu Kabir today, I honored my word. I looked at you, breathed you in one final moment, and yes, I bestowed affection on the brow. I was managed to observe your attractiveness even in the state in which you were repatriated."

Final Words

"My Guy-shuk, I love you so much, I treasure you. I will miss you every second and brief period of my time. Find peace, my sweet one, relax after a journey of two years through unexplored dimensions to us. I hold you dear, my dear Guy, my beloved firstborn son."