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Israel’s army stated on Saturday that it had recovered the physique of a person who was taken hostage from one of many communities hardest hit throughout the Hamas-led Oct. 7 assault, nearly six months to the day after his abduction.
The person, Elad Katzir, 47, was killed in mid-January whereas being held in Gaza, an Israeli army official stated in a information briefing on Saturday. The circumstances of his dying couldn’t be confirmed. The official spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the army operation.
He had lived in Nir Oz, a kibbutz close to the border with the Gaza Strip. Over 1 / 4 of its greater than 400 residents had been both killed or kidnapped within the assault — together with Mr. Katzir’s father, Avraham, who was killed, and mom, Hanna, who was additionally taken hostage, in keeping with the Israeli army.
Hanna Katzir was launched in November as a part of a short cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas through which greater than 100 hostages had been returned. The return of Ms. Katzir, 76, surprised a few of her relations, as a result of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group backed by Iran, had earlier claimed that she was useless.
The households of the remaining 133 hostages held in Gaza have expressed mounting anger and despair, saying that the Israeli authorities shouldn’t be doing sufficient to achieve a deal for his or her launch. On Saturday, Mr. Katzir’s sister, Carmit, denounced the Israeli authorities for not reaching an settlement in time to safe her brother’s launch.
“He might have been saved if there had been a deal in time,” she wrote of her brother on Fb. “However our management are cowards, motivated by political issues, and thus it didn’t occur.”
About 100 hostages are nonetheless being held by Palestinian militants within the enclave, in keeping with the Israeli authorities; over 30 others at the moment are presumed useless.
The Israeli army stated that Mr. Katzir’s physique had been recovered by troops in Khan Younis, a metropolis within the southern a part of Gaza the place the Israeli military has been working since December. Round 8 p.m. on Friday evening, Israeli forces arrived in southern Khan Younis, remoted the realm and excavated his physique from the place he was buried underground, the army official stated.
Forensic pathologists in Israel confirmed his id, and officers then knowledgeable his household, the army stated. The Israeli army’s assertion that he had been killed by his captors, Islamic Jihad, couldn’t be verified.
Islamic Jihad had launched no less than two movies of Mr. Katzir, a farmer who was born in Nir Oz. He was final seen in a video launched in early January, through which he stated he had been held for greater than 90 days and described listening to on the radio of the dying of a detailed buddy from Nir Oz.
Over the previous a number of weeks, Israel and Hamas have resumed oblique negotiations over a attainable cease-fire and the discharge of no less than some hostages. Hamas stated in an announcement on Telegram on Saturday {that a} delegation of its management would journey to Cairo on Sunday for additional negotiations.
On Friday, President Biden despatched messages to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar — who act as intermediaries between Hamas and Israel — urging them to extend strain on Hamas to make a deal. He has pressed Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to do the identical.
Israeli leaders have insisted that continued “army strain” on Hamas will power the group to come back to the desk. The households of most of the hostages, fearing that their family members may very well be killed by their captors or by errant Israeli fireplace, have demanded extra fast motion.
“Your story shouldn’t have ended like this,” Carmit Katzir wrote of her brother on Fb on Saturday. “I’m sorry we couldn’t prevent,” she wrote, including, “I like you endlessly.”
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