Israeli President Isaac Herzog was among mourners at a funeral on Thursday for slain Gaza hostage Tamir Adar.

"Sorry for not reaching you and your loved ones on that terrible day," Herzog said at the funeral for Adar, whose body was released to Israel as part of the latest ceasefire deal.

Adar was killed in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

Mourners and family members said their final goodbyes to Adar on Thursday at Nir Oz.

"Sorry that it ended this way. Sorry it took us two years to bring you back. You know, Tamir, I will not forget and I will not forgive what happened here," his mother Yael said.

Adar was a farmer and third-generation member of the kibbutz.

He loved hiking and spending time in nature with his kids.

Adar was a member of the kibbutz’s emergency first responder team and left his family in their home’s safe room to help defend the community when Hamas attacked.

In the last message he sent to his wife before he was killed in the attack, he wrote: "You don’t open for anyone, even if it’s me asking you to open."

Adar is survived by his wife and two children.

Adar’s grandmother, Yaffa Adar, 85, was kidnapped in the same attack two years ago, with militants driving her into Gaza on a golf cart, before being released in a ceasefire weeks later.

Since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the remains of 15 hostages have been returned to Israel.

Another 13 bodies need to be recovered in Gaza and handed over, a key element of the ceasefire agreement.

"Tamir, now that you rest here, take care, also of the 13 other hostages so they will return to us soon. And really, I want to tell the families of the 13 that we will not leave you until the last hostage returns to us," Adar's sister Roni said.

AP video shot by Ami Bentov