Son says Aryeh Zalmanovich, 86, ‘was murdered’ in Gaza hospital next to Farhan al-Qadi
Rescued hostage updated Nir Oz resident’s son upon return to Israel, said two forged ‘special bond’ when held together in hospital; son says dad didn’t get medicine, care he needed
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. “It was very important” to al-Qadi to speak with the family, Boaz said, and they spoke briefly even as al-Qadi was being welcomed back to Rahat on Wednesday. “I hope we’ll have a more organized conversation” in the future, he said.
Al-Qadi told Boaz that he and Zalmanovich 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.
Boaz said al-Qadi told him that there was a special 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 — not in a medical way, more in terms of giving him support.” Boaz said that learning of al-Qadi’s support for Zalmanovich in captivity was “very important to us.”
Boaz said hostages “are being murdered over time,” not only by being shot by their captors. They’re not eating [properly]. They’re not getting medicine.”
“Dad was old and sick, though still independent. But he was murdered in that way… by torment of the body and mind,” Boaz said. “That was what had most troubled us from the moment we were told Dad was dead, and the short description I got from Farhan only underlined this.”
The conditions in which the hostages are being held are clearly not tenable “for a man of 86, or a man aged 20, or a baby…,” he said. “There is no [proper] care… Even if some of the hostages have had wounds bandaged or had surgery, that does not prevent their murder in captivity… in the tunnels or wherever they are. (Zalmanovich was beaten during his abduction, and was taken to Gaza without his glasses or his hearing aid, according to Channel 12.)
Boaz said he hoped other hostages are able to support each other, and that this could help them survive, “but time is running out.”
“Dad told Farhan that he loved us and that he was worried about all the members of the kibbutz… The kibbutz was his life’s work. He was there since 1957… And it was all destroyed in front of his eyes. Farhan in his brief words said Dad told him about his friends, our family, his childhood…,” the hostage’s son added.
He said he hoped his father’s body would be brought home for burial but stressed that “it is more important to bring home the living hostages.”
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.
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.
