Former Gaza hostage Captain Daniel Peretz was laid to rest in Har Herzl on Wednesday after being returned during phase one of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.
Released hostage Matan Angrest, who served under Peretz, attended the funeral, as did IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Eyal Zamir and President Isaac Herzog.
"It was important to me to salute and pay final respects to my commander, Daniel, who led our heroic battle that Sabbath. The circle will close only when I see Itay Chen sitting for burial in the soil of Israel, together with all the fallen."
“Daniel led his soldiers with responsibility, with faith in the justice of their cause, and with boundless love for his people and his homeland," Herzog said. "He fought until the last drop of blood, embodying the very spirit of the Israeli warrior: steadfast, moral, and brave. Today, the son of the nation returns to his soil, to our soil.”
Captain Daniel Peretz: Always positive, celebrated life
Captain Daniel Peretz, from Yad Binyamin, was a Company Commander who was commended for his bravery during the October 7 massacre, when he was murdered by Hamas terrorists.
Originally from South Africa, Peretz moved to Yad Binyamin in 2014 with the rest of his family before serving in the IDF's 77th Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade.
Daniel's father and chairman of World Mizrahi, Rabbi Doron Peretz, described his son's bravery on October 7, as well as the events surrounding his captivity, in a previous interview conducted with The Jerusalem Post.
On October 7, Daniel immediately ran to his tank and fought valiantly, saving the lives of many of his fellow soldiers, as well as civilians. Eventually, terrorists surrounded his tank, and he was taken hostage, according to his father, Doron, in an interview with the Post.
Daniel embodied the essence of modern-day Judaism and Zionism. Growing up with a strong adherence to both religion and Jewish nationalism, Daniel had a social outreach that extended to people covering the spectrum of Jewish life - religious and secular, Israeli and South African, as well as others from around the world.
Daniel's sister, Shira, said that Daniel would have wanted her to continue living for him, because that is who he was. He celebrated life; was always making the most of it, and always being positive.