Slain hostage Dror Or returned to Israel after 780 days

Dror, 48, was a resident of Kibbutz Be'ri and was murdered on October 7, 2023, as was his wife, Yonat.

Two of the couple's children, Noam and Alma, were taken hostage, as was Dror's nephew Liam, until they were freed the next month in one of the war's earlier ceasefires.

Dror was born on Kibbutz Re'im and attended Tadmor Culinary School before enjoying a successful career in several Tel Aviv restaurants.

He married Yonat, who was born in Be'ri, and they lived in Tel Aviv for a time before returning to her hometown.

Dror worked in the kibbtuz's printing house before joining its cheesemaking business and was a beloved member of the community, known for his passion for food, basketball and yoga.

His brother, Elad, remembered him as "loved and wonderful, at the peak of his life, as a father, a family man, as a culinary producer, as an excellent friend".

His release brings the number of hostages held in Gaza down to just two: Ran Gvili and Suthisak Rintalak.

It comes after the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the largest hostage advocacy group in Israel, announced it would be scaling back its operations and closing its Tel Aviv offices.

Established by hostage families in the wake of the attack, it quickly professionalised into a powerful non-profit, acting as the unofficial voice of the hostage campaign, though not speaking for all the families.

The group also placed significant pressure on the Israeli government, including opposing a renewed offensive on Gaza City for fear it could lead to the deaths of captives.

It organised the massive demonstrations in the plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, later renamed Hostages’ Square, and was prominent in protests calling for an end to the war.

Now, though, with just three deceased hostages remaining in Gaza, all due to be returned in the near future, the group is paring back its day-to-day activities.

Lior Chorev, the Forum's head of strategy, said: "The official struggle is over.

"There’s a hostage deal, and the US and Israel stand behind it.

"We have to adapt our activities to the fact that there is a deal, and a process that isn’t up to us.

"It doesn’t seem right to continue the rallies because it doesn’t serve [the remaining hostages]."