Israel recovers body of hostage seen alive in December video begging for his freedom
Israel recovered the body of a hostage killed while held captive in Gaza who was seen in a video released late last year begging for his freedom.
The body of 47-year-old farmer Elad Katzir was dug up and brought back to Israel during an overnight operation Friday in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the Israeli military said.
Katzir is believed to have been killed in mid-January by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who kidnapped him, the military said, citing intelligence information. PIJ is one of the terror groups that slaughtered roughly 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 253 others in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.
Katzir’s mother, Hanna, 77, also was kidnapped during the attack on their kibbutz, Nir Oz, which borders the Gaza territory and was among the hardest hit on Oct. 7. She was freed alongside dozens of other hostages during a weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas in November.
His father, Avraham-Rami Katzir, was killed during the attack on the kibbutz.
In December, Katzir appeared in a video alongside another hostage, Gadi Moses, released by the Quds Brigades, PIJ’s armed wing, begging for the Israeli government to secure their release.
Katzir’s sister, Carmit Palty Katzir, wrote on Facebook her brother will be buried in Nir Oz, before tearing into Israel for failing to rescue her brother.
“He could have been saved if a deal was reached in time,” Carmit wrote, noting he was alive in two videos made while he was held captive. “Our leadership is cowardly and motivated by political considerations and that is why it did not happen.”
Katzir’s retrieval comes as Israeli and Hamas negotiators are expected to resume talks in Cairo to discuss a cease-fire and the release of hostages still held captive in Gaza.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden called for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza and for Israel to bolster humanitarian relief efforts in the Palestinian territory.
With Post wires
