Israeli Hostage Hamza Ziyadne Is Declared Killed in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Friday that Hamza Ziyadne, an Arab citizen of Israel held hostage in Gaza, had been killed in the Palestinian enclave, as efforts by mediators to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas to free hostages have seen little success.

More than 15 months after the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, prompted the war in Gaza, around 98 hostages remain in Gaza. About 36 of those are presumed dead by the Israeli authorities.

The confirmation of Mr. Ziyadne’s death comes a day after family and friends buried his father, Youssef Ziyadne, 53, who was also taken hostage. The Israeli military said their bodies been found together in a tunnel under the southern Gaza city of Rafah alongside their dead captors. It was not clear when they were found or how the Ziyadnes died.

Before they were discovered, neither hostage had been designated as presumed dead by Israeli officials, who have sought to use intelligence to assess the condition of the remaining hostages. That was likely to further escalate fears among the families of the remaining captives in Gaza that their relatives might have already suffered the same fate.

Some hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, while Israel has said that others were executed by their captors. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said on Wednesday — after Youssef Ziyadne’s death was confirmed — that the military was still investigating.

Bashir Ziyadne, a cousin, said that the family had held out hope that the captives would survive their ordeal and was shocked by their deaths. Many Israelis — particularly the families of hostages — say the Israeli government could have done much more to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas to free the remaining hostages.

Angry relatives ejected an Israeli government minister who tried to visit the funeral of Hamza on Friday, he added.

“The hostages not being released was a result of decisions that this government made and is still making,” he said. “If they wanted to bring back the hostages, they could have.”

Israel’s Arab citizens, like Hamza and Yousef Ziyadne, were not spared in Hamas’s attack. At least 17 were killed and several others taken hostage. About 1,200 people were killed in the assault and 250 others taken hostage, according to Israel.

Many belonged to the Bedouin Arab minority, a group that has long lived on the margins of Israeli society. Historically nomadic herders, many Bedouins now reside in a constellation of cities and hamlets throughout southern Israel, some of which lack basic government services like running water and electricity.

Hamza Ziyadne, 23, was taken hostage alongside his father and two younger siblings, Bilal and Aisha, at the Israeli kibbutz where his father worked. Bilal, 18, and Aisha, 17, were freed during a weeklong truce in November 2023 in which 105 Israeli and foreign hostages — mostly women and children — were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Their abduction placed the Ziyadne family in a difficult position, said Bashir Ziyadne, the cousin, who spent months calling for their release. Some Palestinians viewed them as traitors and accused them of “discussing our pain without discussing the pain in Gaza,” he said, which contributed to the family’s ultimately stepping back from public advocacy.

The Hostages Family Forum, which represents the captives’ relatives, said that Hamza Ziyadne was survived by his wife and two children. In a statement, the group described him as a “nature lover who had a deep affection for animals and was beloved by his friends.”

“Four family members were kidnapped, with only two returning alive,” the group said in a statement. “Youssef and Hamza, who survived a period in the hell of Gaza captivity, could have been saved through an earlier agreement.”

Months of efforts to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire and hostage release deal have failed to bear fruit. Qatar and Egypt have led the talks, which are also being brokered by the Biden administration.

On Thursday, Mr. Biden said that “real progress” was being made in the negotiations, without providing further details. Officials on all sides have repeatedly voiced optimism over a breakthrough over the past several months, only to see hopes dashed a few days later over new obstacles.

For months, Israel and Hamas have leveled seemingly irreconcilable conditions for an agreement. Hamas has demanded an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of any deal to release hostages. Israeli leaders have said they will not end the war before Hamas is destroyed in Gaza and vowed to maintain overriding security control there.

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting from Washington.