The bodies of two deceased hostages, Arye Zalmanovich and Tamir Adar, were returned to Israel from Gaza on Tuesday, October 21. Zalmanovich was the oldest hostage taken by Hamas following the October 7, 2023, attacks. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the remains and informed the families, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said late Tuesday. Two coffins carrying the bodies crossed the border and were taken to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine for formal identification and to investigate the causes of death. Hamas has now returned 15 of the 28 bodies of deceased hostages outlined in the US-proposed ceasefire agreement, signed on October 9.Zalmanovich was abducted alive from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel during the October 7 attacks. He is believed to have been killed in captivity on November 17, 2023, at the age of 85. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described him as the oldest hostage taken by Hamas and "a tough and modest man who demanded nothing for himself." As a founding member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, Zalmanovich was a father of two and a grandfather of five. A farmer by occupation, he was known for growing wheat and was an "idealist and a farmer at heart and soul."Tamir Adar, also from Kibbutz Nir Oz, died fighting to defend the community against Hamas on October 7, 2023, and his body was subsequently taken to Gaza, the IDF confirmed. He was 38 years old. The families' forum described Adar, a father of two, as "sociable and beloved, a thoughtful and sensitive conversationalist with a keen sense of humor." The kibbutz noted he was a "family man, a lover of people and nature, a farmer and an educator by profession." "The government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Zalmanovich and Adar families, and of all the families of the fallen hostages," the prime ministers office stated.The return of the bodies comes as the US-backed ceasefire deal remains in place.US Vice President JD Vance, who was in Israel, addressed the status of the agreement, acknowledging the difficulty of the process. "It is a focus of everybody here to get those bodies back home to their families... Now, that said, this is difficult. This is not going to happen overnight," Vance said, noting that some bodies may be hard to recover. Hamas has previously cited the need for "significant efforts and special equipment" to recover the bodies in Gaza.
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