Israel Says Dead Hostage Found With Captors' Bodies

The Israeli military said it had retrieved the body of a hostage who had been held in the Gaza Strip, as the Biden administration struggles to secure a deal that would pause the fighting between Israel and Hamas, and bring home dozens of hostages still in captivity before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

- ANAT PELED

The remains of the hostage, Yosef AlZayadni, 53 years old, were found alongside the bodies of his captors, said Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani. The military said it was investigating the circumstances of his death.

AlZayadni, a Bedouin Arab citizen of Israel, was kidnapped by Hamas-led militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He was taken from the southern Israeli kibbutz of Holit, where he worked at a dairy farm.

AlZayadni was abducted along with three of his children: Hamzah, 22; Bilal, 18; and Aisha, 17. Bilal and Aisha were freed in a November 2023 cease-fire deal.