Rotem Cooper, the son of Amiram Cooper, who was taken hostage in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and killed in captivity, says in a press briefing that his father is the last remaining from a group of seven hostages who were initially held together in Gaza.
Cooper is one of 13 deceased hostages whose body is still held in the Strip.
Cooper, an economist and poet who was 85 at the time of his kidnapping, and his wife, Nurit, were brutally taken from their home on Kibbutz Nir Oz in the October 7 attack, after terrorists shot through their front door. They were held together underground along with other kibbutz members, until Nurit was freed on October 23, 2023.
On December 18, 2023, Hamas released a propaganda clip showing Amiram alongside his friends Chaim Peri and Yoram Metzger. In March 2024, Hamas claimed that all three had been killed in Israeli airstrikes. That June, Israel confirmed that Cooper, Peri, Metzger and Nadav Popplewell had been killed in captivity. Subsequently, the kibbutz held a farewell ceremony for Cooper, and his family sat shiva for him.
In August 2024, the IDF recovered the bodies of six deceased hostages — Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtav, Peri, Metzger, Popplewell, and Avraham Munder. Israel said it believes Peri and Metzger were shot dead by their captors in mid-February 2024.
Cooper says there must be continued pressure on Hamas to release the remaining deceased hostages.
“It’s a terrific agreement,” says Cooper of the ceasefire deal that took effect earlier this month that stipulates the release of all Israeli hostages. He said the deal has had “terrific outcomes. We’re in a different situation than we were two weeks ago, with 20 living hostages home and 15 returned for burial.”
Cooper, who has lived in the US for many years, speaks from his parents’ home in Nir Oz, which shows some signs of reconstruction, including bullet holes that were plastered over.
“It’s encouraging to see,” says Cooper. “For a long time there were only burned houses here.”
Nir Oz had a population of 400 before October 7. All but six of its homes were burned or destroyed.
Cooper says that some 80 people will soon be living there — 50 kibbutz members and about 30 army personnel.
“Nir Oz is ground zero. We had 64 people killed and 76 taken hostage,” he says. “October 7 affected each and every family.”
He says that rebuilding Nir Oz is important for the memory of his father, making the kibbutz “bigger, stronger and more beautiful” than it was before.
“That will send a message to Hamas,” says Cooper.