The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it had discovered the body of a hostage taken from Israel on October 7, 2023, in an underground tunnel in the Rafah District of Gaza Strip, as well as evidence that raises questions about the condition of another person. Related POWs.
The deceased hostage was identified as Yousef Ziyadneh, a resident of Rahat, an Arab-Bedouin city in southern Israel. Ziyadneh, who is in her 50s, and her three adult children were abducted from the kibbutz where she and her two children were working during the Hamas-led offensive on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
Two of Ziyadneh’s children, Bilal and Aisha, both in their late teens, were released during the November 2023 ceasefire and hostage exchange of Palestinian prisoners.
However, the father and his adult son Hamza Ziyadneh, who was about 22 years old at the time of the abduction, remain in captivity. The Israeli military said the same operation that led to the discovery of Youssef Ziyadneh’s body also revealed “findings” about Hamza that “raise serious concerns for his life.”
The announcement that one hostage was found dead and the fate of another unknown comes as the prisoners’ families and President-elect Donald J. Trump reach an agreement with Israel and Hamas that could lead to a ceasefire. This was done under great pressure. The fire and the remaining prisoners are expected to be returned before Trump takes office later this month.
Of the 250 hostages taken on October 7, 2023, approximately 100 are still being held in Gaza, and more than a third of them are estimated to have died.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in a briefing with reporters Wednesday that “dozens of hostages” were still alive, but did not specify how many.
Col. Shoshani referred to Ziyadneh’s discovery and said bodies believed to be those of Hamas guards were also found nearby, but he did not say how the hostages and others were killed. He also did not elaborate on the findings of an investigation the military announced had raised concerns about the fate of his son Hamza Ziyadneh.
“Our hearts are broken by the unfathomable tragedy of the Ziadne family,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. He added: “Time is running out. Youssef has been kidnapped alive! Our hostages are in immediate life danger. , and must continue to do everything possible to urgently return the fallen and killed to rest with dignity.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been criticized by some Israelis for not prioritizing the return of the hostages, expressed “deep sadness at the bitter news” for the Ziyadneh family on Wednesday. He also vowed to “continue to make every effort to ensure the release of all hostages, living and dead, to their home countries.”
There are approximately 300,000 Bedouins in the Negev desert region of southern Israel, and in addition to the Ziyadne family, other Bedouin members were killed or taken hostage in the October 7, 2023 attack. Samer Talalka, a Bedouin, was one of three hostages accidentally killed by Israeli forces in December 2023. Last August, Israeli forces brought home Bedouin Farhan al-Qadi alive from a village near Rahat. Ziadne’s family lives there. It’s alive.
Bedouins are a marginalized minority in Israel who have long suffered from high unemployment, widespread poverty in their villages, and a lack of basic services such as running water and electricity. Some Bedouin Arab Muslims choose to serve in the Israeli army or work for kibbutzim or other Israeli Jews, and are considered traitors by their fellow Arabs. Sometimes.
Al-Qadi was working as an unarmed security guard at a kibbutz in southern Israel when he was taken hostage. Ziadneh and her two sons worked on a dairy farm in a nearby kibbutz, and Aisha was visiting her father and brother at work when they were all taken prisoner.
President Biden and his aides have been trying for months to secure the release of the remaining hostages and a ceasefire, and a deal appeared at various times to be imminent, Biden administration officials said. It only collapsed due to the Biden administration’s veto. Hamas negotiators. Israeli officials have also repeatedly opposed parts of the proposed deal.
Relatives of prisoners of war say they have no time to wait, and many want an immediate ceasefire. The Hostage Families Forum, which represents relatives of prisoners of war, reiterated its repeated calls for urgency in a statement expressing its sadness over Youssef Ziadneh’s death.
“Every day in captivity puts the hostages, who have survived for 15 months, in imminent and deadly danger, and also threatens the possibility of returning the dead for burial,” the forum said.
Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting.
