By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Saturday that its special forces had recovered the body of a hostage killed while held captive in Gaza, while Hamas, the dominant Islamic movement in the Palestinian enclave, said it would take part in a new round of ceasefire talks in Cairo.
Nearly six months into the war, Israel has faced protests at home demanding a deal to free the dwindling number of live hostages from Hamas’ cross-border rampage on October 7. Western countries, meanwhile, have expressed outrage over what they see as an unacceptably high number of Palestinian civilians and the resulting humanitarian crisis.
The body of Elad Katzir, a 47-year-old Israeli farmer, was unearthed by commandos in southern Khan Younis overnight, the military said. He was killed by his Palestinian Islamic Jihad captors and buried there in mid-January, he said, citing intelligence information that he declined to elaborate on.
Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, had no immediate comment.
Katzir was among 253 people dragged into Gaza by Hamas-led gunmen who, according to official counts, killed around 1,200 in southern Israel, triggering an offensive that doctors in the enclave say has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians.
His father Avraham was killed on their kibbutz, Nir Oz, and his mother Hanna was also taken hostage but freed in November under a truce. Mediators from Qatar and Egypt managed to secure another one that could return some of the 129 remaining hostages.
Angered by an Israeli airstrike that killed aid workers in Gaza, US President Joe Biden on Thursday urged an “immediate ceasefire” and for Israel to increase humanitarian relief measures.
Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo on Sunday for a new round of mediated talks. Israel was undecided whether to participate, an Israeli official said, citing concerns that the event would be “more political theater than real progress.”
Hamas wants any agreement to lead to an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has said that, after a truce, it will overthrow Hamas, which has vowed to destroy it.
In a video posted Jan. 8 by Islamic Jihad online, Katzir said: “I was on the verge of dying more than once. It’s a miracle that I’m still alive… I want to tell my family that I love them very much and which I miss very much.”
Based on various information sources, Israel has declared at least 35 hostages dead in Gaza captivity. Palestinian factions said some were killed in Israeli attacks. While confirming this in several cases, Israel says that, in others, the hostages whose bodies were recovered bore signs of execution.