October 7 · Personal story
Arye (Zalman) Zalmanovich
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
His home in Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Returned for burial · October 21, 2025
His remains were returned to Israel and identified; he was buried in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 24, 2025.
01
Life before October 7
Arie was born in Haifa. In 1955 he was among the Hashomer Hatzair group that founded Kibbutz Nir Oz. He farmed wheat and sunflowers, met Ruth there, and raised two sons. He collected stamps and loved talking about history and the land.
02
October 7
On October 7, Arye texted one of his sons from his reinforced room that attackers had entered Nir Oz. The kibbutz account says he was taken from his home. He was 85 when he was taken.
03
In captivity
Hostage Farhan al-Qadi later said he had been held with Arye in a Gaza hospital and was beside him when he died. Al-Qadi’s account, given after his own rescue in August 2024, described Arye’s final days; Israeli authorities recorded November 17, 2023, as his date of death.
04
Return for burial
The Prime Minister’s Office said Arye’s remains were returned and identified on October 21, 2025. He was buried in Nir Oz three days later.
05
Family and memory
Arye’s wife, Ruth, died in 1997; he continued living and working in the kibbutz, while both sons lived elsewhere. Boaz described his father as a Haifa city boy who made farming and founding Nir Oz his life’s work. At a memorial, Yoav remembered a modest, playful father and grandfather devoted to the fields.