Israeli army finds hostage body in Gaza tunnel

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the General Security Service (Shabak) found the body of Yusef al-Ziadna, kidnapped by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, in an underground tunnel in the Gaza Strip near the city of Rafah. The IDF said on Wednesday, January 8.

"Yesterday (Tuesday), the IDF and Shabak discovered and returned the body of the late Yousef al-Ziadna to Israeli territory from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area. The late Yousef was kidnapped on October 7 and killed in captivity," the Israeli army said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

In addition, during the operation, the military found items related to al-Ziadna's son Hamza, who is also a hostage. It is specified that the findings raise serious fears for Hamza's life.

The found body of the hostage was identified by Israel's National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the police.

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Earlier, on December 4, 2024, the IDF and Shabak returned the body of hostage Itay Svirsky to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed condolences to the family of the victim.

Later, on January 6, a senior spokesman for the radical Hamas movement provided a list of 34 hostages the movement agreed to release in the first phase of a possible deal with Israel. The list included 10 women, 11 men aged 50-85, young children and abductees with health problems. However, the BBC television channel pointed out that it is not known how many people on the list are alive.

In addition, on January 5, it was reported that all the details of the deal on the release of hostages have already been agreed and Israel is only waiting for consent from Hamas.

Before that, on December 23, 2024, Netanyahu spoke about the progress in negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of hostages. According to the head of the government, this is due to military pressure on Hamas and the death of the head of the politburo of the radical movement, Yahya Sinwar.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. Israel began retaliatory strikes the same day.

The Palestinians intend to return the borders between the two countries that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War, with possible land swaps. Palestine wants to establish its state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel refuses these conditions.