JERUSALEM: Israel’s army on Saturday said its troops recovered the body of a hostage abducted by Palestinian fighter group Hamas during the October 7 raid and later murdered in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
The recovery of the body of Elad Katzir, having dual citizenship with Poland, brings to 12 the number of hostages which the Israel army says it has brought home from Gaza since the war started.
But the Katzir’s sister blamed Israeli authorities for his death.
In a statement, the Israeli army said that “the body of the abductee Elad Katzir, who according to intelligence was murdered in captivity by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation, was rescued overnight from Khan Yunis and returned to Israeli territory”.
Katzir, who was 47 years old at the time of the attack, was abducted along with his mother Hanna from Nir Oz kibbutz community
She was released on November 24 during a week-long ceasefire in Gaza. According to the army, Katzir’s father was killed during the attack on the kibbutz.
The military said intelligence services said Katzir was killed in mid-January, shortly after Hamas released video footage showing him being held captive.
He was buried in the dirt, a military official told reporters at a news conference.
Officials said that based on a report, forces reached the spot and started a “digging operation” to recover the body.
He said as a result of their efforts, the body was found and taken to Israel for further examination.
Katzir’s sister expressed her anger towards the authorities.
“Elad was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz in one piece,” Carmit Palty Katzir wrote on her Facebook page.
She blamed the Israeli authorities for his brother’s death and said that if the authorities had agreed to a new ceasefire, he would have returned alive.
Her comments reflect growing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government to respond to the war.
Polish citizen
Yakov Lione, the Israel’s ambassador to Warsaw, said on social media that Katzir has dual citizenship in Poland.
“Elad, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, is also a citizen of Poland… Alex Danzig, another Polish citizen from Nir Oz, is still held in Gaza,” Livne said on X.
Poland’s foreign ministry said on X that it “received the news with sadness” and expressed condolences.
Poland has demanded a “criminal inquiry” into the death.
