Israeli commandos have recovered the body of a hostage held in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, three months after he pleaded for his release in a video issued by his Palestinian Islamic Jihad captors.
Elad Katzir, a 47-year-old farmer from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was among 253 people dragged into Gaza during an October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas-led Palestinian gunmen that triggered Israel's ongoing offensive in the enclave.
A statement from the Israeli military said Mr Katzir was killed by Islamic Jihad, citing intelligence information which it did not detail.
There was no immediate comment on the Telegram channel used by Islamic Jihad during the war.
In a video posted by Islamic Jihad online in early January, Mr Katzir said, "I was close to dying more than once. It is a miracle I'm still alive.
"I want to tell my family that I love them very much and I miss them very much."
Elad Katzir's sister, Carmit Palty Katzir, blamed Israeli authorities for her brother's death.
"The IDF spokesman will not tell you that the prime minister, the cabinet and the IDF have no idea where most of the abductees, alive and murdered, are being held. Nor will he tell you that they have no way of keeping the abductees, even when they know where they are," she wrote on Facebook.
"Our leadership is cowardly and driven by political consideration, which is why this deal has not happened yet.
"Prime Minister, war cabinet, and coalition members: Look at yourself in the mirror and say if your hands didn't spill blood."
Elad Katzir's father, Avraham, was among some 1,200 people killed in Israel on October 7 last year, according to official tallies, while his mother Hanna was also taken hostage but freed in November under a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Based on various sources of information, Israel has declared at least 35 hostages to be dead in captivity in Gaza.
Palestinian factions have said some were killed in Israeli strikes. While confirming this in several cases, Israel says that in others, hostages whose bodies were recovered bore signs of execution.
Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been trying to secure another truce that might return some of the 129 remaining hostages.
A Hamas delegation headed by the group's deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya, will go to Cairo on Sunday for ceasefire talks, in response to an invitation extended by Egyptian mediators, the group said in a statement on Saturday.
Hamas wants any deal with Israel to mean an end to the war, which Gaza health officials say has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians. Israel says it intends to fight on until Hamas falls.
Mass protests have been held across Israel since October 7, with people demanding the Israeli government bring all hostages home.
Iran says 'enemy' will 'regret' killing guards
Iran has again threatened retaliation for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards in a strike in Damascus, with the army chief saying his country's enemies will "regret" the killings.
Tehran has vowed to avenge Monday's air strike on the Syrian capital, which it blamed on its arch-enemy Israel, although Israel has not yet commented.
The attack levelled the Iranian embassy's consular annex in Damascus, killing seven Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) members, including two generals.
Chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri said on Saturday that Iran's response "will be carried out at the right time, with the necessary precision and planning, and with maximum damage to the enemy so that they regret their action".
He was speaking at a ceremony in the central city of Isfahan to commemorate Mohammad Reza Zahedi, one of the two dead brigadier generals from the Quds Force — the IRGC's foreign operations arm.
Mr Zahedi, 63, was Quds Force commander for the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Lebanon, according to Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He had held several commands during a career spanning more than 40 years, and was the most senior Iranian soldier killed since a United States missile strike at Baghdad's airport in 2020 killed Quds Force chief General Qasem Soleimani.
On Saturday, crowds at the gathering in Isfahan chanted "Down with Israel!" and "Down with the United States!"
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said Israel "will be punished" for the killings.
Monday's strike in Damascus took place against the backdrop of the Gaza war.
Tehran backs Hamas, but has denied any direct involvement in the October 7 attack which sparked massive Israeli retaliation against the Gaza Strip.
Monday's attack in Damascus, which the Observatory said killed 16 people, was the fifth raid on Syria in a week to be blamed on Israel.
Tehran does not recognise Israel, and the two countries have fought a shadow war for years.
Iran accuses Israel of having carried out a wave of sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear program.
On Friday, IRGC chief General Hossein Salami warned that Israel "cannot escape the consequences" of the Damascus strike.
Reuters/AFP/ABC
