Body of Israeli hostage retrieved overnight during IDF operation in Gaza

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The body of another Israeli hostage has been recovered from the Gaza Strip and returned to Israel overnight Friday. 

“The operation to retrieve the body started at 20:00 p.m. (last night) and lasted several hours, where his body was excavated from underground in a compound located in the southern part of Khan Yunes,” a military official told the Fox News Jerusalem Bureau. “His body was then brought to Israel for further identification.”

“The whole effort was conducted and bolstered by comprehensive ground and air activity,” the official said, adding that terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad still have 133 hostages hidden away. 

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The official identified the body as that of 47-year-old Elad Katzir. His mother, Hanna, was also a hostage but was released on Nov. 24, 2023, as part of the temporary cease-fire at that time. 

The 162nd Division in the Shifa hospital, troops from the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit eliminated armed terrorists in close-quarter encounters, cleared several buildings inside the hospital, and located many weapons that were hidden inside the various medical devices in the MRI complex as well as on the rooftop of the hospital. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit.) (IDF Spokesman’s Unit.)

A joint statement from the Israel Security Agency (ISA) and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that Katzir was “murdered in captivity,” likely in January this year. Katzir’s sister in a post on Facebook claimed Hamas had murdered her brother, while the ISA and IDF indicated that Islamic Jihad likely bore responsibility.  

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“Following an identification procedure carried out overnight by medical officials at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, IDF and ISA representatives informed Elad Katzir’s family that his body had been rescued,” the statement read. “The IDF and ISA express their deepest condolences to the family.”

Smoke rises during an Israeli strike in the vicinity of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on March 28, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP)

Katzir and his mother were among those abducted on Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The ISA and IDF stressed that they are working “in full coordination with the relevant national and security bodies and will continue until the task is complete” to retrieve all hostages. 

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Katzir was a farmer and social activist who volunteered for the “Hadar Foundation,” fighting for the release of two Israeli soldiers whose bodies are held in Gaza. 

Fox News’ Yael Rotem-Kuriel and Yonat Friling contributed to this report. 

Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.