Israel's army confirmed on Friday that one of the bodies recovered from Gaza earlier this week was that of 23-year-old hostage Hamza Ziyadne.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have appeared to inch closer to an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Palestinians and family members of hostages who were killed in captivity have been imploring the Israeli government and world leaders for a ceasefire deal.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed across its border on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Thursday that 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and 109,378 wounded in the Israel-Hamas war.
Here is the latest from the Middle East.
Body of hostage Hamza Ziyadne identified
The IDF said the identification of Hamza Ziyadne was made by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and Israel's police and the family has been notified. The army said its forces recovered the bodies of Ziyadne and his father from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area and returned them to Israel.
His father, Youssef Ziyadne, had been identified earlier this week. The father and son were thought to be alive before this week's announcement. They were kidnapped together from Kibbutz Holit, when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Hostages Families Forum, which represents families of the hostages, said Ziyadne was a nature lover who had deep affection for animals and was beloved by his friends. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Here's what else is going on
- The MV Sounion, an oil tanker that burned for weeks and threatened a massive oil spill in the Red Sea, has been salvaged, a security firm said Friday. The ship, which had one million barrels of crude oil on board, had been struck and later sabotaged with explosives by Yemen's Houthi rebels in August last year.
- Air-strikes targeted the Hezyaz power station in Sanaa, Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthis, said. British security firm Ambrey said it had received reports of ongoing air strikes across Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen including the port of Ras Issa, Yemen's main oil export terminal.
- The US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court in protest at its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza. The vote was 243 to 140 in favour of the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act" which would sanction any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes US citizens or those of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
- An official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the war likely under-counted by about 40 per cent in the first nine months of the war, according to a study published on Thursday.
- Three women have been killed and five children injured in a stampede outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Friday, the Syrian civil defence, the White Helmets, said in a statement. The stampede came about as a result of "severe congestion due to an event organised by civilians" the statement said.
Ceasefire talks latest
US and Arab mediators have made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal a deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks told Reuters on Thursday.
Qatar, the US and Egypt are making a push to reach a deal to halt fighting in the 15-month conflict and free remaining hostages before President Joe Biden leaves office.
"We're making some real progress," Mr Biden told reporters at the White House.
"I'm still hopeful that we'll be able to have a prisoner exchange," he said, adding Hamas was getting in the way of that. The president said he met with negotiators on Thursday.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned there will be "hell to pay" if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on January 20.
The negotiations have been at an impasse for a year over two key issues.
Hamas has said it will only free its remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
ABC/Wires
