Israeli hostage describes elation after seeing his own face on TV while in captivity: ‘He understood he hadn’t been forgotten’
Israeli hostage Almog Meir Jan, 22, thought the world had moved on as he was starved and beaten and moved from home to home around Gaza for months on end.
Then, on May 11, his birthday, Almong’s captors allowed him to catch a glimpse of Al-Jazeera TV, and saw a major rally by the families of hostages in Tel Aviv, his uncle Aviram Meir, 58, told The Post Tuesday.
Some of the demonstrators were even carrying pictures bearing an image of his face.
“It was then he understood he hadn’t been forgotten,” Meir said.
That moment gave Almog and his fellow captives who were all taken hostage at the Nova music festival and held together — Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv — hope to carry on.
After Almog and three other hostages were freed by the Israeli commando in a daring early morning raid Saturday in Gaza came home to “two hard messages,” Meir said.
He learned that his friend did not survive the Nova festival with him, and his father had died just hours before he was brought home.
Almog “was very upset, it was quite shocking,” his uncle said.
Almog’s father Yossi Jan, 57, had been “glued to the television,” every day since Hamas terrorists abducted his son from the Nova music festival on October 7.
He died of a heart attack just before the stunning rescue.
“My brother died of grief and didn’t get to see his son return. The night before Almog’s return, my brother’s heart stopped,” Almog’s aunt Dina Jan told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
Psychologists advised the family to break the news to Almog right away.
One day after gaining his freedom Almog was rending his garments at his father’s funeral and entering the period of Shiva — the Jewish week of mourning, during which Almog can not wear fresh clothes.
“He was in a bad condition,” Meir said, adding: “It was hard for him.”
Shortly before he was taken, Almog had called his mom to inform her the festival was under attack, and promised to update her every half hour.
Almog, his friend Tomer, and two girls they had just met then tried to flee the carnage in his car, but the vehicle next to them was struck by an RPG.
All the passengers in the car except Almog were killed, and he was taken by Hamas militants.
Meir says Almog has spoken little of his time in captivity with his family, and psychologists have advised them not to ask for details at this time.
The little Almog has revealed was that he was kept prisoner on the second floor of a family’s home in Gaza for the last six months with Andri Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41.
He positively ID’d Abdallah Aljamal, the Palestinian journalist who wrote for Al Jazeera, as his captor.
Dr. Itai Pessach, who has been treating the four freed hostages, says they were beaten and starved “almost every day,” and suffered abuse “beyond comprehension.”
Meir says his nephew, Ziv, and Kozlov were a “united team” who supported each other in captivity.
Almog and Kozlov taught each other Hebrew and Russian respectively, and the three played cards together to pass the time and keep each other sane.
After they were freed the trio all gave each other haircuts.
“It’s very warming to see how they love each other.”
Almog is doing his best to acclimate back into Israeli society, but the enormity of his situation and the symbol he has become to the Israeli public hasn’t sunk in yet.
“From his point of view he lived his life the past eight months and he’s just going to continue.”
“He passed from zero activity to one hundred percent activity,” Meir said, “What he wants is a cigarette, some quiet and friends, a bottle of beer would be good. But he’s the son of the state now.”
After Almog’s ordeal the family is looking towards the future, Meir says his nephew was supposed to begin a job at the Israeli tech company Ness Communications on October 8, and the firm has said they are holding his position for whenever he’s ready to join the team.
And while the family is very happy to be reunited and “thankful” to the IDF and all those who planned and executed his rescue, Meir says that he won’t rest until every hostage family can have closure.
“There are still 120 hostages that are still in Gaza, we won’t stop until the last one will come.”
