Hostage’s family in blast at Netanyahu after body is found
THE family of a hostage found dead in an Israeli commando raid yesterday attacked premier Benjamin Netanyahu for not bringing him back alive.
Acting on a security services tip-off, troops found the body of farmer Elad Katzir, 47, in a shallow grave in a refugee camp at Khan Younis in Gaza close to midnight on Friday.
They are said to have walked to the camp, backed by air and ground support, to isolate the area and dig for his body.
Mr Katzir, among 253 hostages taken into Gaza on October 7, had not been seen since appearing in a Hamas video in January, when he called it ‘a miracle that I’m still alive’.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said he was ‘murdered in captivity’. His father Avraham was among 1,200 killed on October 7. His mother Hanna was abducted but released by Hamas on November 24 as part of a hostage deal.
Mr Katzir’s body was yesterday returned to his heartbroken family, who accused the authorities of failing to rescue him alive.
His sister Carmit said: ‘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.
‘Elad was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz alive and well and 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 it did not happen.
‘He might be recognised as a victim of hostilities but the exact term is “casualty of acts of neglect”. He was abandoned on October 7 and was abandoned for 183 days in captivity, during which time he could have been returned alive.’ News of Mr Katzir’s death came as President Joe Biden was under fresh pressure from Democrat allies to halt arms to Israel, following the killing of seven aid workers, including three Britons, in air strikes.
More than 30 members of the House of Representatives, including former Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, called for a full halt to arming Israel.
But Boris Johnson wrote in his Daily Mail column yesterday that it was ‘shameful’ to call for the UK to end arms sales to Israel, which would likely only embolden Hamas.
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said more than 33,000 people have died in the war, with widespread concern that its inhabitants are on the verge of famine.
TRAIN strikes yesterday left many parts of the country with no services.
Six operators were hit, including Chiltern Railways, TransPennine Express, and Northern – with a full closure of all of their services. Three rail companies – Great Western Railway, LNER and Heathrow Express – ran reduced services. The three-day walkout by train drivers’ union Aslef, the latest in a long-running pay dispute, coincides with its overtime ban. It continues tomorrow.
Among passengers forced to cancel their plans, one user of X, formerly Twitter, wrote: ‘#VictoriaPalaceTheatre got tickets for Hamilton today. But due to @LNER strike, we can’t get into London.’
One mother wrote: ‘Cheers for ruining my week’s holiday from my minimum wage job. Return trip from Aberdeen to Plymouth cancelled so myself and the kids won’t get to see my family until my next holiday in July.’
The latest wave of rail strikes is costing the hospitality industry an estimated £387 million.
Kate Nicholls of trade body UKHospitality said: ‘Hospitality continues to suffer as collateral damage in this dispute.’
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan says the union is on strike over ‘bad faith’ train operators who refuse to negotiate because of ‘political dogma’ and a Government who ‘don’t care’.
He said: ‘We’ve done 17 pay deals in the past 12 months across all sectors, nations and regions – freight, open-access, Elizabeth
Line and Tube. And yet we only have a problem with one place – the Westminster Government, who are interfering with our pay deals with the private companies we work for.’
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike. Having resolved disputes with all other rail unions, the Transport Secretary and rail minister have ensured that a pay offer is on the table – taking train drivers’ average salaries from £60,000 up to £65,000.’