The IDF was able to rescue the bodies of Yosef and Hamza AlZayadne, two Israeli Bedouins who were abducted together with two other relatives from Kibbutz Holit on October 7.
By Rachel Avraham
The IDF was able to rescue the bodies of Yosef and Hamza AlZayadne, two Israeli Bedouins who were abducted together with two other relatives from Kibbutz Holit on October 7. Both hostages were captured alive, yet were killed in captivity. Aisha and Bilal, two other children of Yosef, were also abducted on October 7 yet were freed from captivity last November.
Youssef is left behind by two wives and 19 children, the Times of Israel reported. He was working in the cowshed of Kibbutz Holit. Hamza was also married and the father of two. Hamza and Bilal were working on the kibbutz with their father, while their sister Aisha had joined them for the morning. The family lives in the Bedouin city of Rahat.
Following their release, Bilal said the terrorists kidnapped him and his family members, even though they knew they were Arabs. Bilal said the four of them were kept together, the Times of Israel noted. Israel had hoped that Yosef AlZayadne and his son Hamza would be included in an upcoming hostage deal, yet that was not to be, leaving the total number of Israelis still held hostage in Gaza at 98, Israel Hayom reported.
“Our hearts are broken,” Ali Zayadne, Youssef’s brother and Hamza’s uncle, told Yedioth Achronot. “We wanted them to return to the family alive, but sadly, they have come back deceased.” Ali had hoped that his relatives would come back alive: “Every day, the boys and I checked to see if there was anything new. We thought that they would be released in the new deal because we saw reports that they were among those who would be released; we had hope that they were still alive.”
“Today, after we received the message that they had been found, we couldn’t digest it and we said to ‘check, maybe you’re wrong, maybe they’re alive, don’t rush,’” he recounted. “In the end, all we could do was accept the hard news that tore our hearts.”
Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster, a relative of the slain hostages said that “what they [Hamas] did on October 7, regardless of whether it was to Bedouins or Jews, is not allowed in Islam. We lost sons; it doesn’t matter if they were Jewish or Muslim. They all have mothers and children waiting for them. We’ve been in mourning for 15 months, unfortunately, it ended like this. It hurt a lot to hear it.”
The Times of Israel reported that former hostage Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued by the IDF from a Gazan tunnel in August 2024, eulogized his former neighbor and friend: “Everyone in our home is crying; we hoped to see them alive.”
Following an identification procedure carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, Arutz Sheva reported that the IDF Manpower Directorate’s Hostage team, which is responsible for accompanying the families of the hostages, proclaimed: “Our hearts hurt. We wanted them to return to their families alive, but unfortunately, they returned dead.”
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz stated: “I wish to express condolences to the al-Zayadne family on the finding of the bodies of Youssef and Hamza who were abducted by the Hamas murderers on October 7th and were recovered in a heroic operation by our heroic troops. During my tenure as foreign minister, I accompanied this brave family through difficult times, and I especially connected with Ali, Youssef’s brother and Hamza’s uncle, who accompanied me on many of my diplomatic visits and meetings and shared Youssef and Hamza’s story with many leaders.”
Minister Katz added, “Now, during these moments as well, we continue to do everything to fulfill our top moral obligation – to bring all the hostages, those who are alive and those who aren’t, back to Israeli soil. The pain of the al-Zayadne family is all of our pain, and Youssef and Hamza’s memory will not be forgotten.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also offered his condolences to the family: “On behalf of myself and my wife, I would like to express deep sorrow over the bitter news that the Al-Zayadne family received today. We hoped and worked for the safe return of the four members of the family held hostage by Hamas. We returned the children Bilal and Aisha in November 2023 and wanted to bring back Youssef and Hamza as well.”
The Times of Israel reported that Rahat Mayor Talal Alkernawi lamented that the city had been “waiting to receive them alive, to embrace the family,” but now would not be able to. He said the city would observe a day of mourning and that municipal services and the education system in Rahat would be on strike.
