Bodies of father and son Israeli hostages found in Gaza, family says
by Kit Heren · LBCBy Kit Heren
The bodies of an Israeli father and son who had been taken hostage by Hamas have been found in Gaza, their family has said.
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Youssef Ziyadne, 53, and his son Hamza Ziyadne, 22, were discovered by the IDF in the war-torn strip, according to relatives.
The IDF itself has not commented.
Youssef, Hamza, and Youssef's other children Bilal Ziyadne, 18, and Aisha Ziyadne, 17, were taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Bilal and Aisha were released on November 30 that year.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250.
Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,800 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry.
It does not say how many were fighters, but says women and children make up over half the fatalities.
The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
It comes after Israeli air strikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip, including two infants and a woman, Palestinian medics said.
One strike hit a home in the central city of Deir al-Balah, killing two men and a woman, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the casualties.
The hospital said it also received a four-month-old boy who was killed in a strike on his family house in the nearby built-up Bureij refugee camp.
An Associated Press journalist saw the four bodies in the hospital mortuary.
In Gaza City, an air strike hit a home in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, killing a three-week-old baby, according to the Health Ministry's emergency service.
Israel's military says it only targets militants, who they say are hiding among civilians.