Tel Aviv, Israel — Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday that troops have recovered the bodies of two additional hostages from Gaza.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the bodies of Yosef Al Zaydani and his son Hamzah were recovered in an operation, without disclosing further details.
In a post shared to X, Katz said: "I would like to express my deepest condolences to the Al-Zaydana family upon the discovery of the bodies of Yousef and Hamza, who were kidnapped by Hamas murderers on October 7, and rescued in a heroic operation by our heroic fighters.
During my tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I accompanied the brave family through difficult moments, and I became particularly close to Ali, Yousef's brother and Hamza's uncle, who accompanied me on many of my trips and political meetings and told the story of Yousef and Hamza to many leaders. Even now, in these moments, we continue to do everything to fulfill our supreme moral obligation - the return of all the abductees, living and dead, to the Land of Israel. The pain of the Al-Ziyadna family is the pain of all of us, and the memory of Yousef and Hamza will not be forgotten. May their memory be blessed."
The men were taken captive during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The return of the two bodies comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire deal that would free the remaining 100 or so hostages and would halt the fighting in Gaza.
Israel believes a third of the remaining hostages are dead.
However, Yosef and Hamzah Al Zaydani were believed to still be alive and their bodies' return could ramp up the pressure on Israel to move ahead on a deal.
Copyright MSM/Associated Press