Thousands of Israelis gathered for the funeral of Idan Shtivi, one of two hostages whose remains were recovered in a military operation last week.

A private funeral was held for Ilan Weiss, the other captive.

Shtivi was 28 when he was kidnapped from the Nova music festival in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that sparked the war.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the attack.

"What about all the prayers? All my prayers and plans. Every day, I decided to put on the tefillin since October 8, 2023. And with the tefillin, I truly prayed that Idan would return alive, healthy, and smiling," said Idan's father, Eli Shtivi.

"What has happened to these prayers? Have they gone to waste? They haven't been answered for two years, and I had a flash of insight that all my prayers haven't been in vain. All the prayers are being transferred to the other captives in Gaza, so that everyone will return soon," he said.

Many Israelis accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political purposes, and mass protests calling for a ceasefire and hostage release have swelled in recent weeks.

AP video shot by Ami Bentov