Israel said on Saturday its special forces had recovered the body of a hostage killed while being held captive in Gaza, as Hamas said it would take part in a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo.
Almost six months into the war, Israel has faced protests at home demanding a deal to free the dwindling number of live hostages from the Oct. 7 cross-border attacks by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza.
Western countries, meanwhile, have voiced outrage over what they see as an unacceptably high Palestinian civilian toll and the accompanying humanitarian crisis.
The body of Elad Katzir, a 47-year-old Israeli farmer, was unearthed by commandos in the southern city of Khan Younis overnight, the military said. He had been killed by his captors — members of Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas — and buried there in mid-January, it said, citing intelligence information about which it declined to elaborate.
Islamic Jihad had no immediate comment.
The body of hostage Elad Katzir was rescued by security forces overnight from Khan Yunis and returned to Israeli territory. <br><br>Elad Katzir was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization during the October 7 Massacre. His mother, Hanna, was also…
—@IDF
Katzir was among 253 people dragged into Gaza by Hamas-led gunmen who killed some 1,200 others in southern Israel, according to official Israeli tallies, sparking an offensive that health officials in the enclave say has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians.
His father Avraham was killed in their kibbutz, Nir Oz, and his mother Hanna was also taken hostage but freed in November under a week-long truce.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been hoping to secure another agreement that might return some of the 129 remaining hostages.
Delegation will go to Cairo, Hamas says
Angered by an Israeli airstrike that killed aid workers in Gaza, including a Canadian, U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday urged an “immediate ceasefire” and for Israel to boost humanitarian relief measures.
Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo on Sunday for a new round of mediated talks. Israel was undecided on whether to attend, an Israeli official said, citing concern that the event would be “more political theatre than actual progress.”
Israel says it fired two military officers and reprimanded others after an Israeli drone killed a group of aid workers in Gaza. It released details about how the drone strikes played out, mistaking one of the aid workers as a Hamas militant. Critics say Israel isn’t doing enough to protect innocent lives.
Hamas says any deal must bring about an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has said that, after any truce, it would topple Hamas, which is sworn to its destruction.
In a Jan. 8 video posted online by Islamic Jihad, Katzir said: “I was close to dying more than once. It’s a miracle I’m still alive…. I want to tell my family that I love them very much and I miss them very much.”
Based on various sources of information, Israel has declared at least 35 hostages as dead in Gaza captivity. Palestinian factions have said some were killed in Israeli strikes. While confirming this in several cases, Israel says that, in others, hostages whose bodies were recovered bore signs of execution.