Israeli troops recover body of hostage from Gaza’s Khan Younis, military says

The Israeli military on Saturday (Apr 6) said that its army personnel recovered the body of a hostage who was held captive by Hamas when it launched an unprecedented assault against Israel on October 7 last year.

The troops said that the hostage was killed in captivity in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Identified as Elad Katzir, the victim was a 47-year-old farmer from Kibbutz Nir Oz who was dragged into the besieged Palestinian enclave along with 253 others during the October 7 cross-border firing by the Hamas militant group after which Israel launched its ongoing counter-offensive in Gaza.

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The recovery of Katzir's body brings the number of killed hostages to 12 which the military says it has brought home from Gaza during the war.

The Israeli army released a statement saying that "the body of the abductee Elad Katzir, who according to intelligence was murdered in captivity by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation, was rescued overnight from Khan Yunis and returned to Israeli territory".

Katzir was abducted along with his mother Hanna at the time of the attack.

Hanna was released on Nov 24 during a one-week truce during the war in Gaza.

Katzir's father was killed during the attack at the kibbutz, said the army.

The military said that as per its intelligence, Katzir was murdered in mid-January after the Islamic Jihad released a video of him in captivity.

"He was buried in the ground," a military official told journalists at a briefing, as per news agency AFP reports.

The officials said that following the suggestions shared by the Israeli intelligence, the troops reached the site and "began excavation" work to recover Katzir's body.

"Their efforts resulted in the discovery of the body, which was then transported to Israel for further examination," he said.

Katzir's sister blames authorities for brother's death

Katzir's sister denounced the authorities calling them "cowardly and driven by political consideration" and blamed them for his brother's death.

"Elad was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz in one piece," Carmit Palty Katzir wrote on her Facebook page.

"Our leadership is cowardly and driven by political consideration, which is why this deal has not happened yet," she wrote.

"Prime Minister, war cabinet, and coalition members: Look at yourself in the mirror and say if your hands didn't spill blood."

(With inputs from agencies)