Israeli hostage confirmed dead prior to abduction

An Israeli-Argentinian seized during the October 7 Hamas attack was killed on the same day and his body remains in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli police disperse relatives and supporters of hostages as they block a road in Tel Aviv this week. Picture: AFP

An Israeli-Argentinian man seized during the October 7 Hamas attack was killed on the same day and his body remains in the Gaza Strip.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said overnight on Tuesday that it bowed “its head in sorrow” following “the determination that Lior Rudaeff ... was murdered on October 7 and that his body was kidnapped to Gaza”.

News of his death came as mediators from Qatar, the US and Egypt were meeting in Cairo with Hamas and Israeli delegations in the latest effort towards a truce in Gaza.

Lior Rudaeff, 61.

Rudaeff, 61, resided in Nir Yitzhak, a kibbutz community in southern Israel, when Hamas militants launched their October 7 attack. He was a volunteer ambulance driver for 40 years, a father of four and grandfather of two, and was a dual Israeli-Argentinian citizen, the family group said.

During the attack, militants abducted some 250 people, of which Israel estimates 128 are still held in Gaza, including 36 who are dead, officials say.

“The Israeli government has a profound moral duty to pursue every avenue in the current negotiations to bring Lior home,” the forum said.

“The government must also secure the swift return of all living hostages, so they can begin the long road to healing and recovery.”

Israeli protesters gathered in cities across the country on Tuesday night to demand a deal that would secure the release of the hostages.

Demonstrators blocked a main highway in Tel Aviv.

AFP