Samerano had fled the Nova music festival on the morning of October 7 with two friends, seeking refuge in Kibbutz Be’eri. While his two friends were murdered, Samerano was shot and abducted. Nearly two months later, his family was informed that he had been killed in captivity.
A memorial ceremony was held at Ayalon High School in Tel Aviv, after which the funeral procession made its way to the Nachalat Yitzhak Cemetery. Singers David D’Or, Kobi Aflalo, and Hanan Ben Ari performed songs in his memory. Gal Hirsch, Israel’s Coordinator for the Captives and Missing, was also present. The first eulogy was delivered by President Isaac Herzog.
“Yonati would say, ‘I just sold out the house,’” said his father, Kobi, choking back tears. “This time he made a sellout of the entire people of Israel.” Overcome with emotion, he asked a rabbi to read his prepared words:
“Yonati, we were blessed with 21 years and four months of life alongside you. Being by your side was a gift. We fought for over a year and eight months to bring you home.
"You were one big celebration. A DJ of dreams and hope, lighting up every room with love. A ray of sunshine in gray skies. The heart can’t grasp that you’re gone. You were a great soul, and you’ll stay with us forever.”
He added: “To our new family—the family of the hostages—a family we didn’t choose, but to which we are now forever bound. I stand with you until the last hostage is home. We must bring them all back. Am Yisrael Chai.”
His mother, Ayelet, said: "My Yonati, my 24/7 child, always connected to me—still through an umbilical cord. How many phone calls would you make each day: during school breaks, when you were kicked out of class, even when choosing between a slushie or saving money?"
"When the attack began on October 7, there was no call that morning. For a year and eight months, I imagined you’d call. I waited, I dreamed. It hadn’t happened—until suddenly, I realized you had. You called in the form of a missile fragment that landed at our doorstep."
“I stood firm in my belief that you were alive. I refused to accept otherwise. I said, ‘He’ll come back, and then we’ll know.’ When the officers finally called, it was you who had already ‘dialed’—with that fragment.
“They returned your body, but your soul never left. It was always with me and always will be. Watch over us now, my son. You are life, now and forever.”
Yonatan’s brother, Yair, also spoke through tears: “How do you say goodbye to 21 years of a wild, beautiful soul? You could turn a few beers into a party—that’s who you were. I always looked up to you. You were a real-life Superman. There was nothing you couldn’t do, and you were good at everything. You’ll be with me in everything I do. You’ll forever be the most amazing kid in the world, and you’ll stay young forever.”
Yair called attention to the 50 hostages still held in Gaza.“Everyone must show up every Saturday in the square and do everything we can to bring them back. We are a nation of superheroes—enough with the bullshit. Bring them all home. This can’t go on. This reality has to end. I’m calling on everyone: raise your voices. Everyone must come home,” he said.
President Isaac Herzog, speaking at the ceremony, said: "On behalf of the State of Israel, I ask you, Yonatan—and with you, Ofra and Shai—for forgiveness. Forgiveness that the State of Israel did not protect you. Forgiveness, we failed to rescue you from the hands of murderers in time. Forgiveness that it took so long to bring you back from the hands of these human monsters."
“In this painful, historic moment, let us remember: there is no true and complete victory until the last of our people is home. From this sacred and heartbreaking place, I say to our hostages: the entire nation longs for you, misses you, and demands your return. We will not rest until you are all back with us. I swear, on behalf of the entire nation: no force on Earth will cause us to forget our brothers and sisters still suffering in captivity.”
