Arie Zalmanowicz HY’D, Identified As Hostage Returned Last Night

Military representatives notified the families of Arie Zalmanowicz, 85, and Tamir Adar, 38, that their bodies were returned to Israel by Hamas last night, after they were identified by forensic experts.

Zalmanowicz was abducted alive by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and he was murdered in captivity on November 17, 2023, according to the IDF, citing intelligence information.

Final conclusions will be made upon the completion of an analysis into the cause of death at the Abu Kabir forensic institute, the military adds.

Adar, the deputy security coordinator at Nir Oz, was killed battling terrorists in the kibbutz on the morning of October 7, and his body was abducted to Gaza by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Like other civil defense squad members who were killed while fighting Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, Adar was posthumously promoted to the rank of master sergeant in reserves.