Hostage’s Body Recovered From Gaza: Idf(photos)

The body of a hostage held in Gaza has been recovered, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday.

“The body of hostage Elad Katzir was rescued by security forces overnight from Khan Yunis and returned to Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Katzir was taken on Oct. 7, the same day Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas mounted an attack on Israel, and the war in Gaza began.

“Elad Katzir was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization during the October 7 Massacre,” the post continued. “His mother, Hanna, was also abducted by IJ and released on November 24, and his father, Avraham, was murdered in the kibbutz. According to intelligence, Elad was murdered by IJ in captivity.”

The announcement comes more than a week after the U.N. Security Council passed its first resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, with the U.S. abstaining.

The resolution called for the immediate release of all hostages held by Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, and for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“Our mission since the beginning of the war has been, and remains, to locate and bring the hostages home,” the IDF post continued. “We will continue to operate until it is complete.”

The news of the Katzir’s recovered body comes just over a week after The New York Times published an interview with a hostage who said she was sexually assaulted while held by Hamas.

Amit Soussana, who was held in captivity for 55 days, became the first former hostage in the Israel-Hamas war to publicly come forward with claims of sexual violence.

Soussana’s interview followed a United Nations special group focused on sexual violence finding “clear and convincing information” that Hamas committed rape and sexual torture during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel