In a terribly tragic turn of events, Yossi Jan, z’l, the father of Almog Meir Jan, one of the hostages rescued from Gaza on Shabbos, passed away only hours before he was rescued and never got to reunite with his son.

When IDF officials tried to contact him to tell him about his son’s rescue, they were unable to reach him. They called his sister, who came to his Kfar Saba apartment, where Yossi lived alone, and found him unresponsive. MDA paramedics were called to the scene and pronounced his death.

According to Israeli media reports, Yossi, z’l, 59, has been ill in recent years.

Dina Jan, Almog’s aunt, told Kan News: “My brother died of grief…Yossi, my brother, was glued to the television for the whole eight months, clinging to every piece of information. He loved Almog so much, he cared about him so much, he wanted to know what was happening to him and what he was going through. He couldn’t bear it, every deal that blew up in his face broke his heart.”

Yehi Zichro Baruch.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)