On Friday, Hamas released a video of the 86-year-old Israeli settler Arye Zalmanovich, who was abducted during the Hamas massacre on October 7th. According to the Islamist organization, he died of panic attacks due to Israeli bombings. The clip shows him wrapped in a shroud with his eyes closed and mouth open, presumably dead.
Zalmanovich was a member of the left-wing youth movement Hashomer Hatzair and founded Kibbutz Nir Oz in 1955, where he worked as a farmer until his death. He was known for his calloused hands and work clothes and saw the kibbutz as his life’s work. His abduction sparked outrage among Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Hamas has previously distributed videos of people kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, including a female soldier who they claim was killed by an Israeli airstrike. Israel’s army later confirmed her death at age 19. The exact circumstances of her death were not disclosed. Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups carried out massacres of civilians in the Israeli border area on October 7th and abducted around 240 people to the coastal strip. Four women have been released so far, but one soldier remains captive by Hamas.