Dozens of mourners took part Wednesday in the funeral of Guy Iluz, an Israeli who was taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023 and whose remains were returned under a ceasefire deal.

A funeral procession started from the morgue in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, before heading to the cemetery in Raanana, where Iluz lived before Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel that sparked the war.

"I'm sorry, sorry, sorry I could not save you!" said Amira, a woman in her sixties, who kept her hands clutched together as she walked behind the casket covered with an Israeli flag.

"I came to express my sadness," she said, adding that "it's very important for the family to have a grave to cry, talk and grieve their son."

Iluz, who was 26 at the time of the attack, had been attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas-led militants launched their assault.

He was a guitarist who worked for prominent Israeli musicians as a sound engineer.

Several people in the procession said they were happy hostages were finally being returned, despite the sadness of having to attend funerals.

"This is our life, crying and being happy," said Viki Lavi, who told AFP she had come to support Iluz's father Michel, who "continued to support the families of living hostages" even when he knew his son was dead.

Hamas and allied factions killed at least 370 people at Nova festival on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures.

Iluz reportedly tried to flee the site in a vehicle and later hid in a tree, from where he made his last contact with his parents before being captured and taken to the Gaza Strip.

The military said Iluz was injured and abducted alive by militants but later died of his injuries due to lack of medical treatment while in captivity.

In total, 251 people were taken as hostages to Gaza on October 7, 2023, living and dead.

The US-backed ceasefire deal stipulated that all hostages, both living and dead, would be released within 72 hours of the truce coming into effect on Friday.

In exchange for the return of the living hostages, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees.

Four bodies, including that of Iluz, were returned on Monday. Four more bodies followed on Tuesday, including one the Israeli military said was not a former hostage.

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