Ofir Tzarfati

Ofir, an electrical engineering student from Kiryat-Ata, celebrated his 27th birthday on October 6 at the Nova open-air music festival near Kibbutz Re’im. Ofir enjoyed the festival with his girlfriend Shoval Gal and a group of friends. Just moments before the attack began in the early morning hours of Saturday October 7th, he was captured in a photo, all happy and smiling, blowing out candles on his colorful chocolate birthday cake.
In the chaotic moments following the missile attack, Ofir ensured that Shoval would leave on the first available car. The car was full, and Ofir planned to catch the next one. When the next vehicle arrived, he saw it surrounded by other party-goers; he helped them get on and decided to wait for another car. That vehicle was ambushed by Hamas terrorists. Ofir and another passenger managed to escape, but were ultimately kidnapped.
It was after 54 long days that the Tzarfati family received the devastating news: Ofir had been murdered and taken into Gaza. A combined effort by the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel's General Security Services) succeeded in locating and recovering his body.
The tragic news of his death was delivered to his parents, Rishel and Hanan, in Budapest, Hungary. They were there attending a Maccabi Haifa match in the European League as guests of the club, supporting the team their son loved so much. Their trip was meant to continue with a public diplomacy tour across Europe, in an effort to bring their beloved son and the other hostages back home.
On Friday, December 1, 2023, Ofir Tzarfati was laid to rest on his final journey at the cemetery in Kiryat Ata.
Ofir was a funny, outgoing, warm-hearted, and kind young man. Ofir served in the past in combat ships of the Israeli navy. He was a die-hard Maccabi Haifa fan, and deeply adored his dog, Tai.

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Ofir was kidnapped by Hamas, and later his family was informed that he was murdered.
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