A man sits in a cage with portraits of 47-year-old Israeli hostage Elad Katzir as relatives and supporters of the Israeli hostages stage a protest in Tel Aviv on March 26.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
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Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
A man sits in a cage with portraits of 47-year-old Israeli hostage Elad Katzir as relatives and supporters of the Israeli hostages stage a protest in Tel Aviv on March 26.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
The Israeli army announced on Saturday that it had recovered the body of Elad Katzir, 47, who was kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and held captive in Gaza.
Katzir was from Nir Oz, a kibbutz near the border with Gaza. The small community of 400 residents was among the hardest hit in Israel on October 7.
Around 50 people were killed, including Katzir’s father, and 77 were kidnapped, including Katzir’s mother. She was later released alive on November 24 under a temporary ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli army said his forces recovered Katzir’s body overnight in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. His remains were brought back to Israel. The Israeli military said Katzir was killed in captivity.
In a Facebook post, Katzir’s sister Carmit Palty said her brother would be buried in Nir Oz.
She also expressed frustration with the Israeli government, which she accused of not doing enough to secure her freedom and that of other Israeli hostages as quickly as possible.
In an interview with NPR published last month, Carmit Palty said his brother had always been passionate about the hostages held in Gaza before the October 7 attacks and the return of their bodies to Israel.
She added that her brother demonstrated every week with the families of Israeli soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were captured in Israel’s 2014 war in Gaza. He often said, “We can’t abandon them,” Carmit Palty remembers.
Katzir’s mother, Hana, was among the first hostages freed during the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in November. Carmit Palty said her mother came back “thin, terrified” and was unaware of what happened to her husband or son.
“She didn’t know anything and she was crying for them,” Carmit Palty said.
Between December and January, the militant group Islamic Jihad released two videos of Katzir pleading for help from viewers. The recovery of his body comes about six months after his kidnapping and the start of the war.
Around 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, according to Israel. Some 130 hostages remain in captivity, although some have died.
Since then, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel’s war in Gaza has also led to mass displacement of Palestinians and severe malnutrition among Palestinian children.
Although there have been discussions about a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, no agreement has been reached.
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