Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne, 53 & 22: Father and son dairy farmers
Kidnapped from Kibbutz Holit on October 7, 2023, and slain in captivity, their bodies recovered in January 2025
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Youssef Ziyadne, 53, and his son Hamza Ziyadne, 22, from Rahat, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Holit during the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and killed in captivity.
Youssef and Hamza were taken captive alongside two other siblings from the family, Bilal, 18, and Aisha, 17, who were both released on November 30, 2023.
The IDF announced in January 2025 that it had recovered the bodies of Youssef and Hamza from a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Another relative from the extended Ziyadne clan from Rahat, Abed Ziyadne, was murdered on October 7 along with his girlfriend at the Zikim Beach.
Youssef, married with two wives and 19 children, was working in the kibbutz cowshed on October 7. Son Hamza, married and father of two, and daughter 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.
In a TV interview before the family members’ fate was known, Ali Ziyadne, Youssef’s brother and Hamza’s uncle, said that his brother “worked his whole life in agriculture, he worked in the dairy farm in Kibbutz Holit for the past 17 years.”
“He’s a very beloved person, he’s the middle son in the family but he’s the one at whose house everyone gathers,” said Ali. “He’s a person who likes to bring peace, if there were ever two people in a feud… he was the gentleman.”
Ali described his brother as “elegant,” and said he loved to dress well: “He was always dressed like he was going to a wedding. That’s his personality. He really loved life.”
About his nephew, Hamza, Ali said he was “also loved by everyone, he was married with two kids,” noting that he suffered from migraines and asthma which would only exacerbate his struggles in captivity.
“He loved horses,” added Ali, noting that the family got together and bought him a horse as a gift for when he returned from captivity.
Former hostage Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued by the IDF from a tunnel in Gaza in August 2024, eulogized his former neighbor and friend.
“Everyone in our home is crying, we hoped to see them alive,” said Qadi. “Yousef, my friend, my neighbor, my childhood friend. It’s very hard. We need to end this war and bring them home, everyone. He was a friend to everyone, a father to everyone, he doesn’t deserve this — nobody does.”
The Times of Israel Community.