Israeli forces find body of October 7 hostage in Gaza
Jerusalem: Israeli forces have recovered the body of Yussef Ziyadne, an Israeli-Bedouin hostage kidnapped by Hamas during its October 7 attack, from a tunnel in Gaza’s Rafah area, the military said.
Ziyadne, 53, was confirmed dead at Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine after his body was found on Tuesday.
The military on Wednesday said he was “killed in captivity” and that evidence found during the recovery operation raised “serious concerns” about the fate of his son Hamza, who was also taken hostage, reports Xinhua news agency.
Ziyadne and his three children — Hamza, 22, Bilal, 18, and Aisha, 17 — were abducted while working at Kibbutz Holit. Bilal and Aisha were freed during a prisoner exchange in November 2023. His family confirmed they had been notified of the recovery.
Of the 251 people taken captive during Hamas’s assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, nearly 100 remain in Gaza, with at least 36 believed dead, according to Israeli officials.
The discovery came as negotiators meet in the Qatari capital of Doha for fresh talks on a potential ceasefire-hostage deal, though no breakthrough has been reported.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Hamas has not provided a name list of Israeli hostages to be released.
“Hamas has not transferred a name list of (Israeli) hostages so far,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Sunday, denying previous media reports, which, citing a Hamas official, said the group agreed to release 34 hostages.
Last week, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement said Palestinian factions need a week to prepare and deliver a list of Israeli hostages for exchange during the first phase of a possible ceasefire deal, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV reported.