Body of Arab Israeli Hostage Recovered From Tunnel in Gaza

The family of hostages Youssef Ziyadne, 53, and his son Hamza Ziyadne, 22, were notified by the IDF that the body of Youssef had been located and recovered from a tunnel in the Gaza Strip.

Youssef, 53, married with two wives and 19 children, was working in the kibbutz cow shed in Kibbutz Holit when he was abducted on October 7th. Hamza, 22, married and father of two, and Bilal, 18, and single, were working with their father, while their sister had joined them for the morning.

Bilal and Aisha were released on November 30 after more than 50 days in Hamas captivity, and until now, Youssef and Hamza had been presumed alive.

The family lives in Rahat, in the Ziyadne neighborhood, named for their extensive family clan.

According to reports by the IDF, the body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne was found in a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip area of Rafah. In the same tunnel, the military located findings that raise heavy concerns for the life of his son Hamza Ziyadne, who was abducted alongside him.

Youssef’s body and the other findings were brought to Abu Kabir Forensic Institute for identification.

The bodies of at least two Hamas operatives were located alongside Ziyadne’s remains in the tunnel, and they are believed by the IDF to have been guarding him.

Also in the tunnel the IDF recovered findings that raise concerns for the life of Ziyadne’s son, Hamza — who was also taken hostage — as well as other intelligence materials.

The cause of Ziyadne’s death is still under investigation by the IDF, though according to initial assessments, did not occur recently.