Israeli Army says it recovered one body, found items linked to second hostage in tunnel

TEL AVIV: Following Defense Minister Israel Katz’s announcement that the bodies of two hostages were recovered in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said it had only recovered the body one.

“The IDF and Shin Bet located and returned the body of the late Yousef Al-Zaydana to Israeli territory yesterday (Tuesday) from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area”, the army said. “Yousef Al-Zaydana was kidnapped on October 7 and was killed in captivity”.

The announcement contradicted the family’s comments that both 53-year-old Yousef and his 22-year-old son Hamza, were both recovered. Officials have not explained the discrepancy. “In addition, as part of the rescue operation, findings were found that are linked to Yousef’s son, Hamza Al-Zaydana, who was also kidnapped on October 7 and raise serious concerns for his life”, the army said.

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

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 8, 2025

“Following an identification procedure carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, the IDF Manpower Directorate’s Hostage team, which is responsible for accompanying the families of the hostages, notified their family,” the IDF said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters eulogized Yousef as “a man of dialogue and human connection, a pillar of strength for his family and an influential figure in his community.”

Yousef and Hamza, residents of the Bedouin city of Rahat, were kidnapped while working at Kibbutz Holit. Yousef’s teenage daughters, Bilal and Aisha, were also abducted, but released during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 96 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014. (ANI/TPS)