Former Israeli hostage dies after worsening health condition

Former Israeli hostage Hana Hatzir, 76, died on Tuesday (24) due to health problems that worsened during her period of a month and a half in captivity in the Gaza Strip last year, the government of Israel said. Israel, calling it a “victim of hostilities.”

Hana, one of the 105 hostages released by the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas in November last year during the truce with Israel, had been kidnapped in kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 and released on November 23 of the same year, according to the Israeli government .

“We managed to bring home Hana, who was brutally kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, but her body and soul bore the scars of horror until her last day,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a condolence message.

Since then, the Israeli government and Hamas have been unable to reach another ceasefire agreement to release the group’s remaining 96 hostages – 34 of them dead – despite demands from their families.

“We embrace the Katzir family and pledge to do everything we can and continue working tirelessly until we bring all our hostages home,” Netanyahu said, as an agreement to end hostilities appears closer than ever.

Kibbutz Nir Oz reported that Hana died “after months of fighting and a complex medical condition she faced after her release from captivity.”

She suffered from an unspecified “serious” medical condition and had been in hospital since her release until a few weeks ago, when she was moved to an apartment, where she died.

Carmit Palty Katzir, Hana’s daughter, said her mother “couldn’t bear the terrible suffering since October 7” and that her health deteriorated in December last year because she did not receive the medical treatment she needed during her captivity.

Hana’s husband Rami, 79, was killed on October 7; and her son, Elad, was kidnapped with her from her home in Nir Oz, but two days before his mother’s release, Islamic Jihad announced that he was dead, and his body was recovered in April from Khan Younis.

“Every day spent in captivity puts the lives of our loved ones at risk. It is necessary to move towards a comprehensive agreement for the return of our 100 brothers and sisters,” Carmit said in a statement released by the Kidnapped Families Forum.