Israeli forces have recovered the body of a hostage held in Gaza, the military said Wednesday, adding that it was identifying additional remains that could belong to another captive held in the war-torn enclave.
The military said it recovered the body of Yosef AlZayadni, 53, from an underground tunnel during an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It said it found evidence that raised “serious concerns” for the life of AlZayadni’s son Hamzah, who was also taken captive on Oct. 7, 2023, suggesting he may have died in captivity.
The body’s recovery comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire deal that would free the hostages and halt the fighting in Gaza. Israel believes at least a third of the remaining 100 hostages are dead. However, Yosef and Hamzah AlZayadni were believed to still be alive before Wednesday’s announcement.
Yosef AlZayadni’s name was on a list of 34 hostages shared by a Hamas official with The Associated Press earlier this week that the militant group said were slated for release.
Yesterday, the IDF and ISA located and recovered the body of the hostage Youssef Ziyadne from an underground tunnel in the area of Rafah in Gaza, and returned his body to Israel.
Youssef, 53, was the father of 19 children and lived in Rahat. Youssef was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023… pic.twitter.com/0WK6kl80Ks
—@IDF
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had said earlier Wednesday that troops recovered the bodies of both Yosef and Hamzah AlZayadni.
AlZayadni and his son, along with two of his other children, were taken captive during Hamas’s attack on southern Israel in October 2023, among 250 hostages snatched by the militant group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed sorrow and said in a statement he had “hoped and worked to bring back the four members of the family from Hamas captivity.”
Many families of hostages say the continuation of the war in Gaza puts the lives of the remaining hostages at risk. They have demanded throughout the conflict that Israel reach a deal with Hamas to free their loved ones.
AlZayadni, who had 19 children, had worked at the dairy at southern Israel’s Kibbutz Holit for 17 years, said the Hostages Family Forum, a group representing the families of captives. AlZayadni was kidnapped with three of his children. His teenage kids, Bilal and Aisha, were released in a weeklong ceasefire deal in November.
The family were members of the Bedouin community, part of Israel’s Palestinian minority who have Israeli citizenship. The traditionally nomadic community is particularly impoverished in Israel and has suffered from neglect and marginalization. Palestinians make up some 20 per cent of Israel’s 10 million population, and millions more live in Gaza and under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank.
Eight members of Israel’s Bedouin minority were abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has since killed over 45,800 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. It does not say how many were fighters, but says women and children make up over half the fatalities. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israel has destroyed vast areas of the impoverished territory and displaced some 90 per cent of its population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.
Israel says it has carried out air strikes on dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, in attacks that Palestinian health authorities said had killed nearly 100 people.
