October 7 · Personal story
Almog Meir Jan
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nova music festival near Re’im, southern Israel
Current outcome
Rescued alive · June 8, 2024
Rescued in Nuseirat during an Israeli operation alongside Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv.
01
Life before October 7
Almog Meir Jan was 21 and lived in Or Yehuda. After completing military service and taking temporary jobs, he was due to begin a long-term job on October 8, 2023. His family described him as a source of joy, with a captivating smile, a sense of humour and an ability to connect people. They remembered the love and kindness he brought to friends and family. On the night before the attack, he went to the Nova music festival near Re’im. His planned first day at work was the following morning.
02
October 7
At 7:45 a.m. on October 7, Almog called his mother: the party had closed and gunfire was coming from every direction. He promised to call every half hour and told her he loved her. Contact was lost. In later filmed testimony, he recalled hiding behind a bush, raising his hands when attackers found him, and being taken into Gaza by pickup. His family appealed on social media for information. Around noon they received a Telegram video showing him and four other young men lying on the floor, frightened and covering their faces.
03
In captivity
Almog spent 246 days in captivity with Shlomi Ziv and Andrey Kozlov. In interviews he described first being taken to a warehouse, left on the floor and questioned alone. For the first three days they were blindfolded and tied; afterward they remained bound for two and a half months. He recalled guards limiting showers to once every two weeks and mocking his smell. Small actions could trigger punishments and orders to stay silent. The men used glances, whispers and humour to steady one another. Almog said that during his first night he slept to disconnect from what was happening.
04
Return
On June 8, 2024, Israeli forces rescued Almog in Nuseirat, along with Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv. His captivity had lasted 246 days. He arrived by helicopter at Sheba Medical Center, where he reunited with his mother and family. His father Yossi had died shortly before the rescue and never saw him return. In the days afterward, family members described how closely Yossi had followed every report about his son. Almog’s arrival brought a reunion with his mother and the news of his father’s death.
05
After return
In a recorded message shown on July 6, 2024, Almog described seeing his mother again as a rebirth. He said they understood each other with a glance and that being able to hug her each morning mattered to him. He hoped the other hostages and their families would have the same reunion, and expressed condolences to the family of Arnon Zamora, killed in the rescue operation. In August testimony, he said being home felt strange because people looked at him differently. He was glad to represent something larger, while knowing life would not return to what it had been.