Kibbutz Nir Oz mourns Aryeh Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar

"My father was a man who never asked for anything for himself, who loved his home and his land," said Boaz Zalmanovich, Aryeh's son, after the remains were identified. "That he was taken and left without food or medicine is something I cannot put into words."

Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, was the oldest hostage abducted during Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023. One of the kibbutz's original founders, he was kidnapped alive from his home and is believed to have been murdered in captivity on November 17, 2023.

Born in Haifa, he left his parents' home as a young man to help establish the kibbutz with friends in a Nahal military-agricultural nucleus. He devoted his life to farming, specializing in wheat cultivation under the harsh conditions of the Negev desert.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described him as "a man of books and knowledge, especially in history and the geography of Israel, tough and modest, never asking for anything for himself. Even during previous rounds of fighting, he refused to leave his home." He is survived by two sons and five grandchildren; his wife, Ruth, died in 1997.

Farhan Qadi, a former hostage who was rescued in August 2024, told the family that Zalmanovich died beside him after being denied medication and medical care.

Tamir Adar, 38, a reservist master sergeant and deputy security coordinator at Nir Oz, was killed defending the kibbutz during the assault. A third-generation member of Nir Oz, Adar lived there with his wife, Hadas, and their two children, ages three and seven. On the morning of October 7, he instructed his family to remain in a reinforced room, telling them, "Don't open the door for anyone, even if it's me asking you to."

Adar fought alongside his fellow team members against hundreds of attackers before being mortally wounded and abducted by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. His family learned of his death on January 5, 2024.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described him as "a devoted husband and father of two small children who were his entire world. A farmer at heart who believed in Israeli produce, deeply rooted in the land, who loved hiking its trails and watching the sunset with his children."

Around 1,200 people were killed and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The bodies of 13 more hostages remain in Gaza. (ANI/TPS)