Another hostage body found in Gaza has been identified – the latest from the war in the Middle East

The Israeli army confirmed on Friday that one of the bodies recovered earlier this week in the Gaza Strip was a 23-year-old hostage Hamza Ziyadne.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas appear to be getting closer to agreeing on a ceasefire and releasing the hostages. Palestinians and family members of hostages killed in captivity are begging the Israeli government and world leaders for a ceasefire.

Israel launched an attack on Gaza after Hamas militants invaded its border on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostagesaccording to Israeli data. One third 100 hostages those still detained in Gaza are believed to be dead.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said this on Thursday 46,006 Palestinians were killed AND 109,378 injured in the Israel-Hamas war.

Here’s the latest news from the Middle East.

The body of a hostage Hamza Ziyadne identified

The IDF stated that the identification Hamza Ziyadne was filed by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israeli police, and the family was 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, was identified earlier this week. Before this week’s announcement, father and son were believed to be alive. They were kidnapped together from Kibbutz Holit when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Hostage Families Forum, which represents hostage families, said Ziyadne was a nature lover who had a deep affection for animals and was adored by his friends. He left behind a wife and two children.

Here’s what else is happening

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• The MV Souniontanker that it burned for weeks AND threatened a massive oil spill in the Red Sea, was saved, the security company announced on Friday. The ship, which had one million barrels of crude oil on board, was hit and then sabotaged using explosives by Yemeni armed forces Houthi rebels in August last year.
• The target of the raids was Hezyaz power plant in Sana’a, This was reported by Al Masirah TV, the main Houthi-run news channel. British security firm Ambrey said it had received reports of ongoing airstrikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including Ras Issa port, Yemen’s main oil export terminal.

• The The US House of Representatives voted on Thursday until punish the International Criminal Court in protest against arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister in connection with the Israeli campaign in Gaza. There was a vote 243 to 140 for the “Act on Counteracting Illegal Courts” that would impose sanctions on any foreign national investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting citizens of the U.S. or an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
• Some official Palestinian list of direct deaths in war probably underestimated about during the first nine months of the war 40%.– according to a study published on Thursday.
• Three women were killed AND five children were injured in panic in front of the Umayyad mosque Damascus on Friday, the Syrian civil defense organization White Helmets said in a statement. The panic occurred as a result of “serious traffic congestion due to an event organized by civilians,” the statement said.

Latest ceasefire talks

American and Arab mediators made some progress in efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal the deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks told Reuters on Thursday.

Qatar, the US and Egypt are trying to reach an agreement to end fighting in the 15-month conflict and free the remaining hostages before President Joe Biden leaves office.

“We are making real progress,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

“I still hope that we will be able to carry out a prisoner exchange,” he said, adding that Hamas was standing in the way. The president said he met with negotiators on Thursday.

President-elect Donald Trump has warned that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released by the Jan. 20 inauguration.

Negotiations have been at an impasse for a year over two key issues.

Hamas has said it will release the remaining hostages only if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from the Gaza Strip. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is disbanded and all hostages are released.

ABC/Wires