Gaza hostage's father found dead on day of son's rescue mission

The father of Almog Meir Jan, one of the four hostages rescued from Hamas captivity, was found dead in his home on Saturday, according to reports.

Yossi Meir was ill and lived alone in Kfar Saba. His son was from Or Yehuda and lived separately from his father before his capture, the reports said.

Meir was found unconscious in his home by IDF officers who had come to announce the news of his son’s rescue, according to some reports, while other reports said he was found by family members.

Although he was ill, family members told Israeli media outlets they believed he had died from grief.

“The night before Almog’s return [to my brother], his heart stopped,” Meir’s sister Dina told KAN News. “He didn’t get to see him.”

Rabbi Lior Engelman, a close friend of Meir, told Israeli media outlets: “On Friday, I came to Yossi to give him a challah... and I didn’t know what was behind the door. Yossi loved Almog with all his heart and was tormented day after day. His heart could not stand it, and tragically, 20 hours before the happiness that awaited him, it went quiet.”

Yossi Meir's final days were filled with grief

“Yossi was a man whose life was not easy along the way, and the grief over Almog gnawed at him every day,” he said.

Meir’s sister Dina told KAN News Meir was “glued to the television, clinging to every piece of information... he wanted to know everything that was happening to [Almog] and what he was going through.”

The Kfar Saba Municipality Council’s Hadar Lavi said she hoped Meir could feel the embrace of his community in a difficult time.

“In the sequence of our enormous tragedies in recent months, yesterday we had real moments of happiness, but we continue to pay the price. My condolences to the family [and wishes] that you will never know any more sorrow.”

Almog arrived via helicopter at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer after 246 days in captivity and reunited with his family.

He said he had been shown footage of demonstrations calling for the release of the hostages while in captivity and was able to recognize his own photo. He told his family that he recalled seeing his own photos at the protests and had kept a diary from his time held by Hamas, helping him keep count of the days he was held, Israeli media outlets reported.

Keshet Neev contributed to this report.