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Demonstration by hostage members in Israel: A man sits in a cage to which portraits of Elad Katzir are attached
Photo: Jack Guez / AFP
The Israeli army says it has recovered the body of a hostage in the Gaza Strip who was kidnapped by radical Islamic Palestinian groups on October 7th. "The body of the kidnapped Elad Katzir was recovered from Khan Yunis during the night and returned to Israeli territory," the army said.
According to intelligence reports, Katzir was “murdered while being held hostage by the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad.” The family had been informed of his death. The military did not say exactly how the man was killed.
According to the information, the terrorists abducted the man from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His father was murdered and his mother was also kidnapped. She was released at the end of November last year as part of an agreement between Hamas and Israel's government. Israeli media reported, citing relatives, that the 47-year-old would be buried in Nir Oz. The terrorist organization had released two videos of the hostage in recent months.
Terrorists from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other extremist groups abducted around 250 people to the Gaza Strip in their massacre in Israel. In Kibbutz Nir Oz, a quarter of the residents were killed or deported to the Gaza Strip. The Israeli border town was severely devastated.
As part of an agreement, Hamas released 105 hostages during a week-long ceasefire at the end of November last year. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons.
Since the unprecedented attack, Israel has taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 33,000 people have now been killed.
svs/dpa