Hostage Is Found Dead in Gaza Tunnel, Israel Says

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had discovered the body of a hostage taken from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 in an underground tunnel in the area of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, along with evidence that raises questions about the state of another, related captive.

The deceased hostage was identified as Youssef Ziyadne of Rahat, an Arab Bedouin city in southern Israel. Mr. Ziyadne, who was in his 50s, and three of his grown children, were abducted from a kibbutz where he and two of the children had been working during the Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited the war in Gaza.

Two of Mr. Ziyadne’s children, Bilal and Aisha, both in their late teens, were released during a temporary truce and exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners in November 2023.

But the father and his adult son, Hamza Ziyadne, about 22 at the time of his abduction, remained in captivity. The Israeli military noted that the same operation that led to the discovery of Youssef Ziyadne’s body also revealed “findings” related to Hamza, “which raise serious concerns for his life.”

The announcement that a hostage had been found dead, and that the fate of another is uncertain, came as the families of captives and President-elect Donald J. Trump have been pressuring Israel and Hamas to close a deal that would lead to a cease-fire and the return of the remaining captives before Mr. Trump takes office later this month.

Of the 250 hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, about 100 remain held in Gaza, with a third or more of those still there presumed dead.

In a briefing with reporters on Wednesday, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said “dozens of hostages” are still alive but declined to give a specific number.

Addressing the discovery of Mr. Ziyadne, Colonel Shoshani said that bodies presumed to belong to his Hamas guards had also been found nearby, but he did not indicate how the hostage or the others had been killed. He also did not detail the findings that the military said had raised concerns about the fate of Hamza Ziyadne, the son.

“Our hearts ache over the immense tragedy of the Ziyadne family,” Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, said in a statement. He added, “Time is running out. Youssef was abducted alive! Our hostages are in immediate life-threatening danger. We must continue to do everything possible to urgently return 99 of our brothers and sisters — the living to their families and the fallen and murdered to be laid to rest in dignity.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused by some Israelis of failing to prioritize the return of the hostages, on Wednesday expressed “deep sorrow over the bitter news” for the Ziyadne family. He also pledged to “continue making every effort to secure the release of all hostages back home — both the living and the dead.”

There are about 300,000 Bedouin in the Negev desert area of southern Israel, and other members of the community, in addition to the Ziyadne family, were killed or taken hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. Samer Talalka, a Bedouin, was one of three hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli forces in December 2023. In August of last year, the Israeli military brought home alive Farhan al-Qadi, a Bedouin from a village near Rahat, where Mr. Ziyadne’s family lives.

The Bedouin are a marginalized minority in Israel, with unemployment high and poverty rampant in their villages, which have long suffered from a lack of basic services, including running water and electricity. Some Bedouin, who are Arab and Muslim, choose to serve in the Israeli military or work on kibbutzim or for other Israeli Jews, and are sometimes seen as traitors by fellow Arabs.

Mr. al-Qadi had worked as an unarmed guard on a kibbutz in southern Israel when he was taken hostage. Mr. Ziyadne and the two sons were working on a dairy farm at a nearby kibbutz, and Aisha was visiting her father and brothers at work, when they were all taken captive.

President Biden and top aides have been working for many months to negotiate the release of the remaining hostages and to secure a cease-fire, and a deal has seemed imminent several times, only to fall apart after what Biden administration officials have said were rejections by Hamas negotiators. Israeli officials have also repeatedly objected to some parts of proposed deals.

Relatives of the captives argue that there is no time to wait, and many have pushed for an immediate cease-fire deal. In a statement expressing sorrow over the death of Youssef Ziyadne, the Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of the captives, repeated a call for urgency it has made many times before.

“Every day in captivity poses an immediate mortal danger to the hostages who have managed to survive for 15 months, and threatens the possibility of returning the deceased for burial,” the forum said.

Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting.