Hostage Elad Katzir murdered, body returned to Israel

The IDF said on Saturday its special forces had recovered the body of a hostage killed while being held captive in Gaza.Elad Katzir, a 47-year-old farmer from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was murdered by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ,) the army, and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said in a joint statement, citing credible intelligence sources.

גופתו של החטוף אלעד קציר ז״ל, אשר על פי מידע מודיעיני נרצח בשבי על ידי ארגון הטרור גא״פ, חולצה הלילה מחאן יונס במבצע של עוצבת הקומנדו בהכוונת שב"כ ואמ״ן והוחזרה לשטח מדינת ישראל. גופתו אותרה באמצעות מידע מודיעיני של אמ״ן ושב״כ וזיהוי מדויק של יחידת אגוז.לאחר הליך זיהוי שבוצע…

— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) April 6, 2024

Around a week ago, the IDF received new intelligence about the placement of the body. In addition, around Friday, the IDF received additional intelligence confirmation. Aspects of the confirmation appeared to be related to interrogations of Palestinian terror prisoners.

Within hours of the final confirmation, his body was unearthed on Friday in Khan Yunis' refugee camp by commandos from the Egoz unit.

IDF spokesperson R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari confirmed Katzir’s death, in a post on X Saturday afternoon.Katzir’s sister, Carmit, announced on Saturday that he was murdered in captivity in January after enduring physical and mental torture for months.

His father, Avraham, was killed in their kibbutz, and his mother, Hanna, was also taken hostage but freed on November 24 under a truce.

Criticizing PM Netanyahu

Katzir’s sister criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in her statement to the press.“The IDF spokesperson won’t tell you that the prime minister, the cabinet, and the IDF have no idea where most of the hostages – alive and murdered – are being held. Nor will he tell you that they have no way of protecting the hostages, even when they know where they are,” she said.

“Elad was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz alive and was photographed twice while in captivity. He could have been saved if a deal had happened in time. Our leadership is cowardly and driven by political considerations, and that is why [a deal] did not happen,” she stated.

“He might be recognized as a victim of the hostilities, but the exact term is ‘casualty of acts of negligence,’” she added. “He was abandoned on October 7 and was abandoned for 183 days in captivity, during which he could have been returned alive,” she concluded. “Anyone who delays returning the hostages, ‘it is as if they are shedding blood.’”In a January 8 video posted by PIJ, Katzir said: “I was close to dying more than once. It’s a miracle I’m still alive... I want to tell my family that I love them very much and I miss them very much.”

Based on various sources of information, Israel has declared at least 35 hostages dead in Gaza captivity of the around 130 generally referred to.

On top of that the Jerusalem Post has several top sources who have confirmed that the real number of still living hostages is closer to 70-80.

Israel has admitted that a few were killed mistakenly in "friendly" air strikes, but that most were killed by Palestinian terrorists in captivity.

Answering a question regarding the circumstances of Katzir's death, the IDF spokesperson unit replied 'Elad Katzir was murdered by his captors. We know this from reliable Shin Bet and Military Intelligence Unit intelligence information. We are making efforts to have information on all the hostages. We don't have on everyone," Walla reported on Saturday.

Reuters contributed to this report.