The Media Line: Dror Or, Last Hostage From Kibbutz Be’eri, Returned to Israel  

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Dror Or, Last Hostage From Kibbutz Be’eri, Returned to Israel  

By The Media Line Staff  

Kibbutz Be’eri announced late Monday that the remains of Dror Or were brought back to Israel from Gaza, closing a chapter that residents have been waiting to end since the October 7 massacre. Community leaders described him as a central figure in the kibbutz, noting that “Dror was a devoted father of three children — Yaheli, Noam and Alma, a loving husband to the late Yonat, a son to Dorit and Yuval, and a brother to Elad and Dana, who worked constantly for his release.” They added that the return of his body means “for the first time since October 7, there are no hostages from Kibbutz Be’eri in captivity.”  

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said he was known as “an active and involved father and a loving and supportive husband,” recalling that his friends praised him as “a wonderful cheesemaker” whose products defined the boutique Be’eri Dairy. The forum said, “Dror has been returned to Israel for burial in the earth of Be’eri that he loved so much.”  

Or, 48, was killed in the October 7 attack and dragged into Gaza. He and his wife, Yonat, sheltered with their two younger children as terrorists swept through the community. Their house was set ablaze, and the couple pushed the children out a window in an attempt to escape. They became separated; Yonat was murdered, and Noam and Alma were taken hostage along with Dror’s nephew, Liam Or, who was kidnapped from nearby Kibbutz Re’im. The three children were released during the late-November truce in 2023. Dror’s fate remained unclear until May 2024, when the kibbutz confirmed he had been killed that day.  

Raised in Kibbutz Re’im, Or studied at the Tadmor Culinary School, worked in Tel Aviv restaurants, and later joined Be’eri’s dairy operation after moving with Yonat to her home community. He trained in cheesemaking in Italy and France, ran a dairy-catering business, and was known for his enthusiasm for travel, basketball, and yoga, eventually becoming an instructor.  

Colleagues and relatives said he brought calm wherever he went. His brother described him as “loved and wonderful,” while his father recalled that “when he would arrive somewhere, any frictions would disappear.” His mother added that “there was always a feeling with him that everything would be OK.”