The discovery of Yosef AlZayadni’s body comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire deal that would free the remaining hostages and halt the fighting in Gaza.

The Israeli military said that it had retrieved the body of a hostage who had been held in the Gaza Strip, as the Biden administration struggles to secure a cease-fire deal that would bring home dozens of hostages.

Yousef Al-Ziyadnah, 53, who was kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, was found dead in a tunnel in the Rafah area, a statement from the Israel Defense Forces said. The IDF said he had been “killed in captivity” and confirmed that the dead bodies of at least two Hamas operatives were found nearby.