The family of hostage Hamza Ziyadne, 22, was informed on Friday that his remains had been identified by the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute.
The bodies of Hamza Ziyadne and his father, Youssef Ziyadne, aged 53, were found by the IDF in a tunnel in Rafah, south of Gaza, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.
The IDF announced that Hamza’s family was informed of the news this morning, after identification by the forensic institute.
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“Hamza and Youssef were captured alive on October 7 and murdered in captivity by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. The IDF and the Shin Bet share the family’s pain at this tragic time,” the army said.
The statement added that “the IDF and the Shin Bet are doing everything possible to return all the hostages as quickly as possible.”
Earlier in the week, the Israeli army expressed “serious concerns” about the fate of Hamza, following the discovery of the bodies in the tunnel. It is now confirmed that he was indeed murdered.
Of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 94 are believed to still be in Gaza, including the remains of at least 34 people whose deaths were confirmed by the IDF.
Hamas freed 105 civilians during a week-long truce at the end of November, and four hostages were freed before that. Eight hostages were rescued by the troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages were also found, three of whom were mistakenly killed by the army while trying to escape their captors.
-Hamas also holds two Israeli civilians who entered the strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014.
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