JERUSALEM (VINnews) — BDE: The Kiryat Arba regional council has confirmed that, after several months in which he was considered kidnapped by Hamas, Elyakim Shlomo Libman has been confirmed as murdered during the October 7th massacre.
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“For many months he was missing, and we all prayed for his return. Elyakim fought bravely and saved the lives of many people during the massacre,” the council stated.
“We send a heartfelt embrace to the beloved Libman family, to his friends and to Kiryat Arba. The funeral and period of mourning will be announced later.”
Elyakim’s body was located in Israeli territory and positively identified as part of the ongoing effort by the IDF, the Israel Police, and the Forensic Medicine Institute to determine the nature of all bodies located in the Gaza region in the aftermath of the October 7th massacre.
Elyakim had been a member of the organizing team at the Nova party and had treated many of the injured and saved many lives. One of the injured he treated, Shani Gabai, had also been working at the party. Elyakim and Shani were both apparently in an ambulance which took a direct hit from an anti-tank missile and were both mistakenly buried with other people, leading to them being described as missing. Shani’s remains were found after 47 days, and Elyakim’s were discovered after 210 days.
Elyakim Shlomo is the son of Eliyahu Libman, whose brother Shneur Shlomo was murdered by terrorists near Yitzhar in 1998. Elyakim was named for his slain uncle and both of them were murdered at the age of 24 years old. The terrorists who murdered Shneur Shlomo were released in the 2011 Shalit prisoner exchange and likely participated in the Oct. 7th massacre in which Elyakim Shlomo was murdered.
Shneur Shlomo (l) and Elyakim Shlomo HyD