The hostage, Youssef Ziyadne, an Arab Bedouin, was seized along with three grown children on Oct. 7, 2023. Two of them were released, but there is “serious concern” about the fate of the third.

Yousef Al-Ziyadnah, 53, who was kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was found dead in a tunnel in the Rafah area, a statement from the Israel Defense Forces said. The IDF said he had been “killed in captivity” and confirmed that the dead bodies of at least two Hamas operatives were found nearby.

The brother-in-law of an Israeli hostage taken by Hamas said reports of a ceasefire are "a light at the end of the tunnel" - following "so many false dawns".