Israel verified that Hamza Ziyadne, the son of Youssef Ziyadne, another hostage, was discovered dead next to him in an underground tunnel close to the southern city of Rafah.
The Israeli military stated Friday that it had informed the family of Hamza’s death after forensic examinations were completed. Hamza was an Israeli Bedouin who was taken hostage by Hamas-led terrorists along with his father.
The bodies of both hostages were found beside those of armed guards from the Islamist organization Hamas or another Palestinian militant group earlier this week, it claimed, adding that their killings did not seem to have occurred recently and that it was still unclear how they had been slain.
Hamas did not immediately comment.
Their bodies were recovered as mediators Qatar, the United States, and Egypt stepped up their attempts to come to an agreement to stop violence in Gaza and liberate the remaining Israeli prisoners before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
The group that represents the majority of the families, the captives and Missing Family Forum, reiterated its demand that the Israeli government reach an agreement with Hamas and return the captives, claiming that an earlier accord may have spared Youssef and Hamza.
Two major difficulties have caused the negotiations to stall for a year. According to Hamas, Israel must agree to stop the conflict and remove all of its troops from Gaza before it can release the other hostages. Israel claims that unless Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are released, the war will not stop.
After Hamas militants crossed the border 15 months ago, killing 1,200 people and capturing over 250 hostages, according to Israeli estimates, Israel began its attack on Gaza.
More than 46,000 people have died in Gaza since then, according to Palestinian health officials, while humanitarian organizations report that Israel’s activities have left much of the enclave in ruins and caused severe food and medication shortages for the majority of the territory’s residents who have been relocated several times.