Body of hostage Youssef al-Zaydana found in Gaza Strip
IDF express 'serious concerns' for the life of son Hamza, kidnapped with his father from Kibbutz Hulit
The body of Bedouin father of 19 Youssef al-Zaydana, kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October, has been found in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military add that findings there indicate ‘grave concern’ for the fate of his son Hamza al-Zaydana.
Youssef, from Rahat, and Hamza were kidnapped from Kibbutz Hulit with Aisha and Bilal, also Youssef’s children.
The brothers were released after 55 days in captivity.
In a statement posted this evening to Twitter/X, the IDF wrote: “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.”
They added: “In addition, as part of the operation, findings were located related to Youssef’s son, Hamza Ziyadne, who was also abducted on October 7, which raise serious concerns for his life. The IDF sends its heartfelt condolences to the family and will continue to operate in order to bring back our remaining hostages held in Hamas captivity.”
After Aisha and Bilal’s release, their relatives said: “From what we heard, Hamas didn’t care who they kidnapped, Jew or Arab, as far as they were concerned, any kidnapped person could help them with their demands.
“The four of them were alone in a room. They didn’t know if they were at home or in a tunnel, they received meals as usual and heard explosions all the time.”
A list of hostages in Gaza who could be released in a ceasefire deal circulated in international and Israeli media this week amid reports that ceasefire talks were once more gaining momentum.
But the Israeli government is warning that the list does not reflect any agreement, or information about the status of the people on it.
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