Almog Meir Jan, who was rescued from Hamas captivity in June during "Operation Arnon," is now romantically involved with Osher Hanum, the former partner of Sergeant First Class Amit Ben Yigal, who was killed five years ago when a stone was thrown at his head during an operation in a Palestinian village. The two have been dating for about six months.
Baruch Ben Yigal, the fallen soldier's father, told Ynet he approves of the relationship. "When we marked six months since Amit’s passing, Osher and I stood together at his grave, and I told her that I wish her the best in the world, and that, God willing, she’ll invite us to her wedding. I told her she deserves to love and be loved, and I would be happy to hear that she’s in a relationship. I think this is the best thing that could happen. She’s a young woman who went through a tragedy."
"I was very happy to hear about her relationship," he continued. "The kind-hearted Almog also attended the opening of the synagogue we dedicated in Amit’s memory and the ceremony where we brought in a Torah scroll. They came together. We are close to them, and we are so happy and supportive of them. My dream is to see Osher walk down the aisle, and I will dance all night at her wedding because she deserves it. I hope God grants me the opportunity to see her under the wedding canopy and the blessings of marriage."
The grieving father added: "We are a supportive, loving, and embracing family. We only want her to be happy and to have the best and most joyful life. We’ve had enough sorrow. We deal with this sorrow every day, all day, so we only want the best for her."
Almog Meir Jan’s emotional speech at Hostages Square
Almog Meir Jan was rescued on June 8 from the Nuseirat camp along with Shlomi Ziv, Noa Argamani, and Andrey Kozlov. About a week ago, he appeared at Hostages Square for the first time since his rescue and gave an emotional speech about the long period he spent under the constant threat of terrorists controlling his life.
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"It has been 210 days since that Saturday when I was taken out of hell, but I’ll never forget the sight of the outstretched hand toward me, the hand that saved my life," he said. "Arnon and his team will forever remain in my heart." Arnon Zamora fell during the operation to rescue the hostages, and the operation was renamed in his memory
He urged progress on a hostage deal. "The outstretched hand for the hostages and their families is a deal that must be signed, a deal to save their lives, to save all of our lives," he said, adding that: "As long as all 100 of our hostages have not returned home safely, there is no recovery, no continuity and no future."