Qaid Farhan Alkadi, the Bedouin-Israeli hostage who was rescued from the Gaza strip on Tuesday, revealed he was held in captivity for two months with Aryeh Zalmanovich, a former hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz who died in Hamas captivity, according to a KAN report on Thursday.
Alkadi testified that he witnessed Zalmanovich’s death in captivity in December 2023, KAN added.
The information was brought to light by Ata Abu-Madighem, the ex-mayor of Rahat, on KAN. He claimed Farhan told him that “a Jewish friend died next to him, after two months, in December 2023.”
Alkadi said the two were held in a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip for the first few weeks after being taken hostage on October 7. Zalmanovich told Alkadi about his sons, the kibbutz he was from, and his love for his family,
He then stated that Zalmanovich died five weeks later.
Boaz, the son of Aryeh Zalmanovich, told KAN after that his “Father was in the hospital in the southern Gaza Strip with Farhan throughout the entire time of captivity, about 40 days. A special bond was formed between them. Farhan was also wounded, but he took care of Dad and supported him. Dad was old and sick, did not receive proper medication and treatment – and was murdered in this way – after a period of physical and mental agony. They are not always shot.”
“Father told Farhan that he loves us and cares for the members of the kibbutz – he knew what happened to them.”
Alkadi was wounded on October 7. He told N12 that he was shot in the leg by terrorists on October 7 and, while in captivity, underwent surgery to remove the bullet in his leg.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Zalmanovich was from, responded to the KAN publication by saying that the “testimony completed the painful picture of the hellish moments that passed from the moment of Aryeh’s kidnapping until his tragic death.”
“This is a difficult and horrifying first-hand testimony of what the hostages who remain in Gaza are experiencing. There is no time for hesitation or procrastination. Everyone must come home now before it’s too late. Every moment counts, and every delay may cost additional lives.”
Kidnapping of Zalmanovich
The video of 86-year-old Zalmanovich’s kidnapping from Nir Oz was published earlier in August on N12. In the video, dozens of people attempted to get closer to the motorcycle as the group moved through the streets. Some struck Zalmanovich, and in the video, he was visibly wounded and had bloodstains on his clothing and a head wound, N12 noted.
Kibbutz Nir Oz said: “The video shows the difficult moments in which Aryeh is being led on a motorcycle, bruised on his head, while a mob from Gaza brutally beats him. This is chilling documentation that illustrates the suffering and horrors, and the physical and mental torture our hostages went through and are still going through for more than ten months.”
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