Israel’s military said Wednesday it had discovered the body of a hostage taken from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip, along with evidence raising questions about the condition of another, a related captive.
The deceased hostage was identified as Youssef Ziyadne from Rahat, an Arab Bedouin town in southern Israel. Mr. Ziyadne, who was in his 50s, and his three grown childrenthey were kidnapped from the kibbutz where he and two children worked during the Hamas attack on Israel that ignited the Gaza war.
Two children of Mr. Ziyadne, Bilal and Aisha, both in their late teens, were released during temporary truce and exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners in November 2023.
But the father and his adult son Hamza Ziyadne, who was about 22 years old at the time of the abduction, remained in captivity. The Israeli military noted that the same operation that led to the discovery of Youssef Ziyadne’s body also uncovered “findings” related to Hamza, “causing serious concern for his life.”
The announcement that the hostage was found dead and that the fate of another was uncertain came as the families of the captives and President-elect Donald J. Trump pressure Israel and Hamas to strike a deal that would lead to a ceasefire and the return of the remaining captives. before Mr Trump takes office later this month.
Of the 250 hostages taken on October 7, 2023, about 100 remain in Gaza, and a third or more of those still there are presumed dead.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said “dozens of hostages” were still alive, but declined to give a specific number.
Speaking about Mr. Ziyadne’s discovery, Colonel Shoshani said bodies believed to belong to his Hamas bodyguards were also found nearby, but did not say how the hostage or the others were killed. He also did not detail the revelations that the military said raised concerns about the fate of Hamza Ziyadne, the son.
“Our hearts ache for the enormous tragedy of the Ziyadna family,” Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, said in a statement. He added: “Time is running out. Youssef was kidnapped alive! Our hostages are in immediate danger. We must continue to do everything possible to urgently return 99 of our brothers and sisters — alive to their families, and the dead and murdered to rest in dignity.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused by some Israelis of not prioritizing the return of the hostages, expressed his “deep sorrow at the bitter news” for the Ziyadne family on Wednesday. He also promised to “continue to make every effort to ensure the release of all hostages back home – both alive and dead”.
There are about 300,000 Bedouins in the Negev desert area of southern Israel, and other members of the community, apart from the Ziyadna family, were killed or taken hostage in the attacks on October 7, 2023. Samer Talalka, a Bedouin, was one of the three hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli forces in December 2023. In August last year, the Israeli army brought home Farhan al-Qadi alivea Bedouin from a village near Rahat, where the family of Mr. Ziyadne.
The Bedouins are a marginalized minority in Israel, with a high unemployment rate widespread poverty in their villages, which have long suffered from a lack of basic services, including running water and electricity. Some Bedouins, who are Arabs and Muslims, choose to serve in the Israeli army or work in kibbutzim or for other Israeli Jews, and Arabs sometimes see them as traitors.
Mr. al-Qadi was working as an unarmed guard at a kibbutz in southern Israel when he was taken hostage. Mr. Ziyadne and his two sons were working on a dairy farm in a nearby kibbutz, and Aisha was visiting her father and brothers at work when they were all captured.
President Biden and top aides have been working for months to negotiate the release of the remaining hostages and secure a cease-fire, with a deal that appeared imminent several times, only to fall apart after what Biden administration officials said were pushback by Hamas negotiators. Israeli officials have also repeatedly objected to some parts of the proposed agreements.
Relatives of the prisoners claim that there is no time to wait, and many have called for an immediate ceasefire. In a statement expressing grief over Youssef Ziyadne’s death, the Hostage Families Forum, which represents relatives of the captives, repeated the call for urgency it has made many times before.
“Each day in captivity represents an immediate danger of death for the hostages who managed to survive for 15 months and threatens the possibility of returning the deceased for burial,” the forum states.
Jonathan Reiss contributed reporting.
