Farewell in Israel for Tanzanian hostage Joshua Mollel as family, nation grieve

A solemn farewell ceremony was held at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport for Joshua Loitu Mollel, the 21-year-old Tanzanian hostage whose remains were returned from Gaza earlier this month.

Mollel had arrived at Kibbutz Nahal Oz just 19 days before the October 7, 2023 attack. After completing agricultural college in Tanzania, he had hoped to gain hands-on experience in Israel that he could later apply back home.

During the ceremony, Tanzania’s ambassador to Israel, Alex Gabriel Kalua, paid tribute to Mollel’s ambitions and the shock of his loss.

“A young man, Joshua, with so much promise, had a dream to venture in the agricultural field and contribute to the agricultural business after completing his internship in Israel, but the dream was cut short by his brutal killing by Hamas that fateful day,” Kalua said. “Indeed, his loss is devastating and deeply felt not only by the family but also by the government and the people of Tanzania.”

With Mollel’s return, there are now three remaining deceased hostages still in Gaza. Israeli authorities have continued exchanging the bodies of Palestinians for the remains of hostages as part of ongoing efforts to account for all those taken on October 7. Around 250 Israeli and foreign civilians and soldiers were abducted and taken into the Gaza Strip during the attack.

Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Gaza remains broadly intact, providing a temporary and fragile pause in fighting. However, regional tensions continue to simmer. Israel has carried out strikes on what it says are Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, and the Israel Defense Forces are continuing raids in parts of the occupied West Bank, underscoring the ongoing volatility across multiple fronts.