Bodies of Hostages Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne Retrieved from Gaza

Photo Credit: Courtesy

Israeli hostages Yousef Al-Ziyadne (right) and his son, Hamza, whose bodies were recovered from Gaza on Jan. 8, 2025.

The IDF discovered the bodies of hostages Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne during ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Wednesday. The victims’ family has been notified. The father and son from the Bedouin town of Rahat were working in one of the Kibbutzim when they were kidnapped on October 7, 2024, by Hamas.

Two more of Youssef’s children, Bilal and Aisha, were also kidnapped at the same time and later released on November 30, 2023. It was assumed until now that Youssef and Hamza were still alive.

“Our hearts ache,” Ali Ziyadne, Youssef’s brother, told Israel’s Ynet news outlet. He added, “We wanted them to return to our family alive, but unfortunately they returned dead. Aisha and her brother Bilal were waiting to hug them. This is a difficult and shocking disaster.”

Content from JNS was used in this report.