Sahar Baruch, 25, was killed in Hamas captivity in Gaza after being kidnapped on October 7, according to a joint statement from his community, Kibbutz Be'eri, and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Baruch's brother, Idan, was murdered by Hamas during the October 7 massacre. Sahar was considered missing for weeks, until his family received the message that he was being held captive by Hamas.
On Friday, Hamas terrorists released a propaganda video showing Sahar Baruch's body, claiming that the captive Kibbutz Be'eri resident was killed during an IDF operation to free hostages. The IDF denies those claims and has confirmed that Baruch was murdered by Hamas terrorists.
When the IDF spokesman spoke publicly about the incident, he did not mention nor confirm Baruch's death but did confirm that two soldiers were seriously injured during the operation in question.
The IDF's operations to locate and rescue the abductees, both surviving and murdered, require a combination of operational efforts and intelligence. Rescue operations are requiring the service of multiple security organizations to collect data about the captives, Israeli media reported.
IDF representatives are in regular contact with the families of the abductees and update them with any verified information about their loved ones. "The terrorist organization Hamas is trying and will try to produce psychological terror. Spreading unverified rumors and facts must be avoided," they said in a statement.
His family, including parents Tami and Roni, and siblings Guy and Niv, are demanding the return of his remains in any future hostage return deal.
Sahar Baruch's legacy
The late Baruch was an electrical engineering student at Ben-Gurion University, his family told Israeli media. "Sahar was at home with his brother Idan at his mother's house, they woke up in the morning like the rest of us from alerts and the explosions," his aunt said in an interview with Israeli media. "They entered and closed themselves in the mamad but couldn't close the door, so they closed it with a closet. When the fire started, three grenades were thrown into the mamad - Idan was hit and Sahar treated him for hours."
She added, "When the house started to burn and it was already too hot to stay in the house, they decided to jump out," she added. "In the beginning, Idan jumped and probably near that he was shot and killed. Sahar stayed behind for a few more minutes to bring him the inhaler because Idan was asthmatic. For more than two weeks we did not know what happened to him and then some information was received that he was not in Israeli territory."
She also added that he was about to start his new university year, saying, "He was supposed to start the school year, he was already registered and on the Wednesday after the disaster we were supposed to go to Be'er Sheva to choose an apartment."