Hostage's father dies hours before rescue

Hours prior to his son's rescue mission, hostage Almog Meir's father passed away from illness. Meir was saved by the IDF after eight long months in captivity but received the tragic news that his father had died just before they could have been reunited.

Yossi Meir, who had been suffering from a prior illness, was found dead early Friday morning in his home in Kfar Saba. He was never given the news that his son had been freed from captivity and died just before the operation took place.

Officials were on their way to his home to tell him the news of his son coming home when his body was found. Meir-Jan received the awful news mere hours after being reunited with his family. He was 57 at the time of his passing and the funeral took place later that day.

His family stated that the "weight of his son's captivity was too much for him and that he couldn't bear the pain." They said that: "His final days were filled with grief, heartbroken over his son being held hostage for the past 8 months."