A military honor guard accompanies Sgt. Major Eldad Regev to his grave (Flash90)
President Shimon Peres on Thursday visited the bereaved families of First Sergeant Major Eldad Regev, 26 and Sergeant Major Ehud Goldwasser, 31, telling them that "all of Israel is hurting with you." Thousands attended the funerals of the two soldiers returned dead by Hezbollah on Wednesday, two years after they were captured in a cross-border raid by the Lebanese terror group. Hundreds of thousands lined the roads on their last journey.
Upon arrival at the Goldwasser home, Peres embraced Ehud's parents and his widow Karnit Goldwasser, telling them "I came here in the name of the people of Israel, to salute Udi (Ehud) and his courageous family, who fought an uncompromising and righteous struggle to bring their son home." Peres praised the family for their dignity: "you conducted yourselves with humility and integrity and I am proud to be here today with you and tell you that all of Israel is hurting with you."
When asked about celebrations in Lebanon marking the return of convicted terrorist child-killer Samir Kuntar, Peres said he is "proud to be part of a people with higher morals", adding, "there are people on the other side whose god is the god of terror. This is not our god, these are not our morals."
Ehud's parents Shlomo and Miki Goldwasser told Peres that they had in the past two years "discovered a nation, a great and rare people, a nation of beautiful young people, Jewish communities that contribute. Our people as a whole enlisted to bring two of our sons home, and we have been showered by extraordinary support."
Goldwasser and Regev received formal military burials, with soldiers carrying their caskets draped in blue and white Israeli flags. Defense Minister Ehud Barak eulogized Regev as an "impressive young man" with great love and commitment to his religion, and said: "In the name of a hurting state, we salute you."
"This isn't the way we hoped to see Eldad and Udi [Ehud] back in Israel," he said, adding: "An entire nation pays tribute to courage shown by Regev family."
"We are left with no choice but to live by the sword in hostile region," the defense minister said. "Israel will not be deterred from waging fierce war against terrorism."
Sergeant Major Ehud Goldwasser was was laid to rest at 10 A.M. Thursday at the Nahariya cemetery. His widow Karnit described her husband's funeral as concluding a two-year journey: "For the last two years I have been speaking for two, Eldad and Udi, Regev and Goldwasser. The struggle to bring you home was joint from the beginning. For the first time, today, I let myself speak only of you."
The day of her husband's abduction was "the morning when time stood still," Goldwasser said, adding: "Ehud will continue to be my inner voice, my full partner as I go on with my life."
Goldwasser also mentioned that her husband's funeral took place a day before his birthday. "One day before your birthday I ask, Toush, maybe time will allow the bleeding wounds to heal?" she said, calling her late husband by his nickname. "Although I am without you, I will always be with you."
No word about the soldiers' condition had been given from the time of their abduction on July 12, 2006 until their bodies were returned on July 16, 2008.
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