Zamir Haimi, whose nephew Tal Haimi was kidnapped and killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, told Newsmax Saturday that he and his family are still waiting for the chance to bury him and are hoping the latest hostage deal will help bring peace to the region.
"My beloved nephew Tal was a very special man who had three kids before the 7th of October, and now, after time, he has four sons," Zamir Haimi told "America Right Now."
"Tal was the first one to jump from his house to protect our kibbutz and all the people around, and he was killed by Hamas.
"He was kidnapped, and we still don't have his body to bury him," he said.
Zamir Haimi said his family lived in uncertainty for months after the massacre.
"In the first two months, we didn't know anything about that, but we were supposing that Tal is alive.
"After about two months, the army told us that he is not alive, according to some things that they found," he said.
"That was a very terrible evening when they came to tell us that Tal is not alive anymore."
Amid reports that some hostages could be released in the coming days, Zamir Haimi described his emotions as "a very big mix of feelings."
"We have families that are going to be alive ... and we are very happy for them.
"But we are still hoping that we'll get Tal, because some of the dead people are missing," he said.
"We feel that Tal will be back in the few days to come; then we will bury him, and this will be the closure for us."
Zamir Haimi said he remains committed to peace despite his loss.
"I am a peace seeker and looking for peace," he said."I hope this hostage deal will start a new deal all around the Middle East, and peace will come to the area and to the region."
Most Israelis "wanted the war to be ended a long time ago," Zamir Haimi said.
"We are very thankful to President [Donald] Trump that at least he put all his weight on this deal, and we hope now that it will come to an end," he said.
With Trump scheduled to visit Israel and possibly address the Knesset, Zamir Haimi said he hopes the president will push to end the fighting.
"I would like to hear from him that he's putting all his weight and all the pressure to move on, to finish all these wars in the Middle East — at least let's try.
"Now we want quiet," he said.
"We want a peaceful future for all the children around — for the children in Gaza, the children in the Arab states, and our children and great-grandchildren in Israel."
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