Body of an Israeli hostage is found in Gaza, possibly alongside his son's remains, army says

This undated photo provided by Hostages Families Forum Headquarters shows Yosef AlZayadni, 53. (Hostages Families Forum Headquarters via AP)

JERUSALEM — Israeli soldiers recovered the body of a 53-year-old hostage in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza, the military said Wednesday, and the army was determining if another set of remains belongs to the man's son.

The discovery of Yosef AlZayadni's body comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire deal that would free the remaining hostages in Gaza and could halt the fighting. Israel has declared about a third of the 100 hostages dead, but believes as many as half could be.

Yosef and his son Hamzah AlZayadni were thought to still be alive before Wednesday’s announcement, and news about their fate could ramp up pressure on Israel to move forward with a deal.

The military said it found evidence in the tunnel that raised “serious concerns” for the life of Hamzah AlZayadni, 23, suggesting he may have died in captivity. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said the circumstances behind Yosef AlZayadni's death were being investigated.

AlZayadni and three of his children were among 250 hostages taken captive after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people.

AlZayadni, who had 19 children, worked at the dairy farm at Kibbutz Holit for 17 years, said the Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the relatives of captives. AlZayadni's teenage children, Bilal and Aisha, were released along with about 100 hostages in a weeklong ceasefire deal in November 2023.

The family are members of the Bedouin community, part of Israel’s Palestinian minority who have Israeli citizenship. The traditionally nomadic community is particularly impoverished in Israel and has suffered from neglect and marginalization. Palestinians make up some 20 per cent of Israel’s 10 million population, and millions more live in Gaza and under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank.

Eight members of Israel’s Bedouin minority were abducted in the October 2023 attacks.

Yosef AlZayadni appeared on a list of 34 hostages shared by a Hamas official with The Associated Press earlier this week who the militant group said were slated for release. Israel said this was a list it had submitted to mediators last July, and that it has received nothing from Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is “very close” and he hopes “we can get it over the line” before handing over U.S. diplomacy to President-elect Donald Trump’s administration later this month.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed sorrow at the news of AlZayadni's death, and said in a statement he had “hoped and worked to bring back the four members of the family from Hamas captivity.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz earlier said the bodies of both Yosef and Hamzah AlZayadni had been recovered, but the military said the identity of some remains were not yet determined.

The Hostages Families Forum said the ceasefire deal being negotiated “comes far too late for Yosef - who was taken alive and should have returned the same way.”

“Every day in captivity poses an immediate mortal danger to the hostages,” the group said in a statement.

The bodies of around three dozen hostages have been recovered in Gaza, including the two on Wednesday, and eight have been rescued by the army.

Many of the families fear their loved ones' fate is at risk as long as the war in Gaza rages on. Israeli forces are pressing their air and ground war against Hamas, and Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including two infants and a woman. Israel’s military says it only targets militants, accusing them of hiding among civilians.

The war has killed over 45,800 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry. It does not say how many were fighters, but says women and children make up over half the fatalities. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israel has destroyed vast areas of the impoverished territory and displaced some 90 per cent of its population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

The fighting has also spilled over into the broader Middle East, including a war between Israel and Hezbollah now contained by a fragile ceasefire, and direct conflict between Israel and Iran.

Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have targeted shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year and recently ramped up missile attacks on Israel, saying they seek to force an end to the war in Gaza. And on Wednesday, the U.S. military said it carried out a wave of strikes against underground arms facilities of the Houthi rebels.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.