IDF says body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne found in Gaza, ‘grave concerns’ for son’s life
Remains of Ziyadne, 53, brought back to Israel, along with findings linked to his son Hamza, 22; troops located the body in tunnel in Rafah, in area where IDF previously operated
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne, 53, who was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, was recovered by the Israeli military from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday.
Members of Ziyadne’s family said that the military had informed them that the body of his son, Hamza Ziyadne, 22, was also recovered from Gaza, though the IDF said that this was not yet confirmed.
Youssef was abducted by Hamas terrorists during the October 7, 2023, onslaught, along with three of his children, Hamza, Bilal, 18, and Aisha, 17, while working in Kibbutz Holit near the Gaza border.
Bilal and Aisha were released on November 30, 2023, after more than 50 days in Hamas captivity.
Until Tuesday, Youssef and Hamza were presumed alive.
The IDF in a statement said that Ziyadne’s body was found in a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah, and was brought back to Israel for identification. Following the identification process, his family was notified.
In the same tunnel, the IDF said it located findings that linked to Ziyadne’s son Hamza who was abducted with him on October 7, as well as other intelligence materials.
The military said the findings raised “grave concerns for his life.”
The remains of at least two Hamas operatives were located alongside Ziyadne’s body in the tunnel, and they are believed by the IDF to have been guarding him.
The tunnel in Rafah was located in an area where the military had operated before, according to IDF sources. The IDF returned to the area following new intelligence, to recover the body. It was not in the same area where the bodies of six hostages were found in late August.
The cause of Ziyadne’s death was still under investigation by the IDF, though according to initial assessments, did not occur recently.
Despite the IDF statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X that the bodies of both Youssef and Hamza were recovered “in a heroic operation,” and expressed his condolences to the Ziyadne family.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, offered condolences to the Ziyadne family.
“We hoped and worked for the safe return of the four members of the family from Hamas captivity,” Netanyahu said. “We returned the children Bilal and Aisha on November 23, and we wanted to return Youssef and Hamza in the same way.”
Youssef, married with two wives and 19 children, was working in the kibbutz cowshed. Hamza, married and father of two, and Bilal, were working with their father, while their sister Aisha had joined them for the morning.
The family lives in Rahat, in the Ziyadne neighborhood, named for their extensive family clan.
Following their release, Bilal said the terrorists kidnapped him and his family members even though they knew they were Arabs. Bilal said the four of them were kept together.
It is now believed that 95 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 39 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
