Aryeh Zalmanovich, 86, was named Thursday as the Israeli hostage who died beside Farhan al-Qadi, the hostage who was rescued alive on Tuesday, while the two were held captive together in Gaza.
Zalmanovich, who was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught, died about five weeks into his captivity, according to al-Qadi.
Zalmanovich, a father of two and grandfather of five, was already known to have died in captivity, with Kibbutz Nir Oz announcing his death on December 1, 2023. The terror group had previously published a video in mid-November in which it showed Zalmanovich looking ill.
Following his rescue on Tuesday, al-Qadi asked to connect with Boaz Zalmanovich, the late hostage’s son, Boaz told Kan radio on Thursday.
Al-Qadi told Boaz that the two were taken to a hospital in southern Gaza, where they were kept for the first few weeks of the war. In captivity, Zalmanovich told al-Qadi about his family and community.
In the interview Thursday, Boaz said he had spoken briefly with al-Qadi, and expressed gratitude for the connection between the two hostages.
“Dad was in a hospital the whole time, he wasn’t moved, and Farhan was with him for certain stages,” Boaz said.
“I understand from Farhan that they had a special bond. [Farhan] was also wounded, but he still helped take care of Dad, in a way.”
Boaz said that al-Qadi’s moral support for Zalmanovich in captivity was “very important to us.”
“Dad was old and sick, and he didn’t get the medicine and care that he needed — and he was murdered that way — by torment of the body and mind,” Boaz said.
Zalmanovich was beaten during his abduction, and was taken to Gaza without his glasses or his hearing aid, according to Channel 12.
“Dad told Farhan that he loved us and that he was worried about the members of the kibbutz. He knew what had happened to them,” the hostage’s son added.
Kibbutz Nir Oz issued a statement following the report on Thursday, calling al-Qadi’s story “difficult and horrifying testimony from a firsthand witness into what the remaining hostages in Gaza are experiencing.
“We appeal again to all those involved, and specifically to the government of Israel and its leader — every additional moment in captivity is a genuine threat to the life of the hostages. There’s no time for hesitations or delays. Everyone must come home now, before it’s too late,” the kibbutz said.
Zalmanovich, too, stressed the importance of returning the remaining hostages. “Time is running out,” he told Kan.
There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces or from the Hostage Families Forum.
It is believed that 103 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 31 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.