Gaza: The Body of an Israeli Hostage Identified, Two Days After That of His Father
Demonstration with more than 100 activists demanding action to rescue all hostages and stop the war now, in the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv on January 10, 2025 ©Jack GUEZ / AFP

The body of an Israeli hostage who had been held in the Gaza Strip and whose body was brought back to Israel was identified a few days after his repatriation, the army announced on Friday in a statement.

"Following the completion of the examination process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israeli police, this morning (Friday) army representatives notified the Zayadna family that their son Hamza, who had been held hostage in the Gaza Strip, 'was killed in captivity by Hamas,'" the text said.

The Israeli army had announced on Wednesday that the body of Hamza’s father, Youssef Zayadna, had been identified and repatriated after being found in a tunnel in the Rafah region, in the southern Gaza Strip.

After unverified reports about Hamza’s death, the army confirmed on Friday that his body had also been brought back.

"The Zayadna family received today a very, very, very heartbreaking news, as all of Israel did," said the organizer of a hostage support demonstration at one of the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City, according to AFP.

Negotiations are currently underway in Qatar, one of the mediator countries between the Islamist Hamas movement and Israel, in an effort to reach an agreement that would lead to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages.

According to data published on Friday after the announcement of Hamza al-Zayadna’s death by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 94 people are still being held captive, 60 of whom are presumed alive, and 34 have been declared dead by the Israeli army.

With AFP

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