(JPost) The bodies of father and son hostages Youssef al-Zayadni and Hamza al-Zayadni were discovered in the Gaza Strip, the family of the abductees were told on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
The pair were abducted alongside two other relatives. They were members of Israel’s Bedouin community, living in Rahat but working on a kibbutz when Hamas attacked.
“We were informed that the bodies of Youssef and his son Hamza were found. Our hearts ache. We wanted them to return to the bosom of the family alive – but unfortunately, they returned dead,” relative Ali Zayadni said, according to Ynet. “Aisha and her brother Bilal were waiting to hug them. This is a difficult and shocking disaster.
“Every day, the boys and I checked to see if there was anything new,” Ali shared today. “We thought they would be released in the new deal because we saw reports that they were among those released. We had hope that they were still alive. The day after, when we received the message that they had been found, we couldn’t digest it and said, ‘Check, maybe you’re wrong, maybe they’re alive, don’t rush.’ In the end, all we had to do was accept the hard news that tore our hearts.”
The pair were taken by Hamas from Kibbutz Holit on October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded southern Israel and murdered some 1200 people.
They were abducted alongside Aisha and Bilal, the brother and sister of Hamza. Bilal and Aisha were both released as part of the November deal.
Youssef leaves behind 18 children, according to Ynet.
The bodies are being transferred for medical examination to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Walla reported.
Youssef’s name appeared in a leaked list published by Al-Sharq, pertaining to the names of hostages to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire, Walla reported.
Defense Minister Israel Katz expressed his condolences to the family on X.
“During my tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I accompanied the brave family through difficult moments, and I became particularly close to Ali, Youssef’s brother and Hamza’s uncle, who accompanied me on many of my trips and political meetings and told the story of Yousef and Hamza to many leaders,” Katz wrote. “Even now, in these moments, we continue to do everything to fulfill our supreme moral obligation – the return of all the abductees, living and dead, to the Land of Israel.”
