JERUSALEM, Israel – The body of at least one Hamas-held hostage who had been thought to be alive was found this week, adding new urgency to the talks for the hostages' release. It comes at a time when the negotiations appear to be moving forward.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Wednesday that they had located and recovered the body of hostage Youssef Alzayadni, a 53-year-old Bedouin Muslim from Rahat, who was abducted alive on October 7th and killed in captivity.
Rahat Mayor Talal Akernawi declared, "It is a very difficult incident. The family is in pain, crying and screaming. They received the announcement with deep sadness.”
The IDF said it also located "findings" related to Alzayadni's son Hamza, also a hostage, raising "serious concerns for his life."
Reports said the bodies of two terrorist guards were next to him.
Mayor Akernawi revealed that the residents there had different expectations.
“We had all read the names (of the hostages) that were published, and they were among the names of the living ones. We expected to bring them back alive. Unfortunately, it seems that they and others were murdered, and this is a great pain. Instead of returning them alive to their families, to raise their children, we receive them dead," he said.
Alzayadni was abducted along with three of his children while they were working at the dairy in Kibbutz Holit when Hamas attacked.
CBN News interviewed Alzayadni's relative and family spokesman Bashir Alzayadni several months ago. He recalled, "At seven and a half in the morning, they were captured. We saw photos and videos, of them being held by Hamas. Very hard images, very hard footage."
Hamas released one son, Bilal, and a daughter, Aisha, after nearly two months because they were both under the age of eighteen.
Spokesman Bashir, a law student, told us what his younger cousins experienced in captivity.
"They told us that they had almost no food. They told us that they (had) been staying deep down in the tunnels. They told us that although the guards of Hamas spoke Arabic and they speak also Arabic, they've never shared a word together," Bashir explained.
He added, "They never spoke together. All four of them were staying in the same room. And their guards gave four of them, each one, a Quran book, which is the Islamic holy book. It was very hard for them to stay in captivity."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog observed in a statement, "Our hearts ache over the immense tragedy of the Zidayne family, who received the devastating news. They have endured 460 days of worry, hope, and endless longing."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife expressed "deep sorrow over the bitter news," and said Israel would "continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased."
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