Israeli military says body of Bedouin hostage recovered from Gaza

The Israeli military said its forces found the body of an Arab Bedouin hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as evidence indicating that another may also be dead.

The body of Youssef Ziadna (53 years old) was recovered from an underground tunnel in the southern Rafah area on Tuesday.

The forces also reached what the army described as “findings…that raise serious concerns” for the life of his son Hamza (22 years old), who was also kidnapped by Hamas gunmen during the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

Two of Hamza’s siblings, Aisha and Bilal, were arrested with them on a kibbutz farm that day. But they were among 105 hostages released during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his “deep regret at the bitter news that Ziadna’s family received today.”

The news came shortly before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators were “very close” to brokering a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Meanwhile, at least 14 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza on Wednesday, according to paramedics and paramedics.

The Israeli army also said it intercepted a missile fired from the southern Gaza Strip.

Youssef Ziadna lived in a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert in southern Israel.

On the morning of 10/7/23, he went to work on the dairy farm in Kibbutz Holit, where his three children joined him for a walk.

They were among 251 Israelis and foreign nationals taken hostage when hundreds of Hamas-led militants stormed the nearby border fence between Israel and Gaza and killed about 1,200 more people.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the attack. More than 45,930 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Strip.

Israel says 95 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead, in addition to four other Israelis kidnapped before the war, two of whom died.

The Israeli military said that Youssef Ziadna was “killed in captivity” and that his family had been notified following identification procedures conducted by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israeli Police.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that special forces found his body near the bodies of a number of armed guards, and that it was not clear how and when he died.

He added, according to Reuters news agency: “We are currently investigating the circumstances of his death and are also investigating the findings related to his son.”

He added, “These results raise concern for his life, and he is still under examination at this moment,” without giving any details.

Earlier, Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on the X website that the bodies of Yousef and Hamza had been recovered.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “We were hoping and working for the safe return of the four committee members [Zyadna] The family held hostage by Hamas.

“We brought back the children Bilal and Aisha in November 2023 and wanted to bring back Yousef and Hamza as well. I send my heartfelt condolences to the family.”

He also pledged that Israeli security forces “will continue to make every effort to return all our hostages, living and dead.”

The Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons, which represents the families of some of the hostages, expressed regret that the potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement being discussed in Doha “came too late for Youssef.”

“Every day in captivity poses an immediate lethal danger to the hostages, who have managed to survive for 15 months, and threatens the possibility of the deceased being reburied,” a statement said.

On Sunday, Youssef Ziadna’s name appeared on a list of 34 hostages, and a senior Hamas official said the movement was ready to release them in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office denied that Hamas had provided Israel with such a list, saying it was “originally transferred from Israel to intermediaries as early as July 2024.” She added that Israel had not received confirmation of whether those on the list were alive or dead.

Hamas’s decision to share the list with the media was considered an attempt to increase popular pressure on the Israeli government as negotiations resume in Doha.

Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that a potential deal was close and that he hoped to “get it over with” before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

He added: “I think that when we get this agreement, and we will get it, it will be based on the plan that the president put forward.” [Joe] The US Secretary of State added that Biden was presented to the world last May.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff said in a press conference on Tuesday that “a lot of progress” had been made in the talks and that he intended to join them.

Meanwhile, Trump repeated his threat that “all hell will break loose in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release all hostages in the next 12 days.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan said in response: “I think the American president should make more restrained and diplomatic statements.”

The two sides exchanged accusations of obstructing progress towards reaching an agreement by making unreasonable demands.

Hamas wants Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas’s military and governance capabilities are dismantled and all hostages are returned home.