Israel confirms identity of captive killed in Gaza

Israel confirmed that a captive found killed in Gaza was Hamza Ziyadne, the son of another hostage, Youssef Ziyadne, found dead alongside him in an underground tunnel near the southern city of Rafah, Reuters reports.

The family of Hamza, an Israeli Bedouin, had been notified of his death following the conclusion of forensic tests, the Israeli military said today.

Earlier this week, it said the bodies of both hostages had been recovered close to those of armed guards from the Palestinian resistance, adding their deaths did not appear to have been recent and it was not yet clear how they had been killed.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

The recovery of their bodies comes amid renewed efforts by mediators Qatar, the US and Egypt to reach a deal to halt Israel’s bombing of Gaza before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on 20 January.

The Hostages and Missing Family Forum, the organisation representing most of the families, renewed its call on the Israeli government to conclude a deal with Hamas and bring back the captives, saying Youssef and Hamza could have been saved through an earlier agreement.

The negotiations have been stalled because of what Israeli officials have said is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to sabotage them and his refusal to agree to stop the bombing campaign if a deal is struck.

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