JERUSALEM

The sister of Elad Katzir, an Israel hostage who was killed, in the Gaza Strip, criticized Tel Aviv on Saturday for its failure to rescue her brother.

"Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu), the War Cabinet and the Israeli army have no idea about the whereabouts of most of the hostages, alive or those killed,” Carmit Katzir said in a Facebook post.

She said it could have been possible for Israel to reach a hostage swap deal with the Palestine resistance group, Hamas.

The Israeli army said earlier Saturday that it retrieved Katzir’s body during an operation in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

She pointed out that “they also have no means to protect the hostages even when they know where they are.”

“Elad was abducted from his home in (the settlement of) Nir Oz, alive and in good health, and was filmed twice while in captivity.”

She blamed the Netanyahu government for failing to bring her brother back home alive, and said, “It could have been possible to rescue him if the deal (with Hamas) had been made in time.”

“Our leadership is cowardly and driven by political considerations, and that is why my brother has not been released.”

She said, “He may be recognized as a victim of hostile acts, but the accurate term is: a victim of abandonment.”

“He was abandoned on October 7, and was abandoned in captivity for 183 days, during which he could have been returned alive.”

She emphasized that “any delay in redeeming the hostages as soon as possible is akin to shedding blood.”

Carmit addressed Netanyahu, the War Cabinet and members of the coalition government, saying: “Look at yourselves in the mirror and say if you don't stop the shedding of this blood (Israeli hostages in Gaza) you have 133 other detainees to rescue.”

She mourned her brother, saying, “This is not how your story and our story should have ended. I'm sorry, we couldn't save you.”

The Israeli army said, “The body of the hostage Elad Katzir, who was killed according to intelligence information while being held by the Islamic Jihad organization, was extracted from Khan Younis last night (Friday/Saturday) in an operation carried out by the commando unit under the direction of the Shin Bet and the Amman (Military Intelligence) and brought to Israeli territory.”

Katzir was taken hostage alongside his mother, who was released Nov. 24 as part of a hostage deal between Hamas and Israel, said the statement.

The army indicated that estimates in Israel suggest Katzir's killing occurred around mid-January.

The Islamic Jihad did not comment on what the Israeli army reported, but the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the group, previously broadcasted a recorded message Dec. 20 from two Israeli hostages in Gaza, warning that “their lives are in danger due to Israeli bombardment of the Strip.”

In the video, Katzir appealed to Netanyahu and all decision-makers in Israel to “do whatever is necessary and stop the war and accomplish a hostage swap deal.”

“We don't want to die in Gaza and our lives are in great danger, and we ask you to do everything that needs to be done to bring us back,” he said,

Israeli heavy bombardment on Gaza has previously resulted in the deaths of several hostages, according to Palestinian resistance factions, led by the al-Qassam Brigades

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack in early October by Hamas killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 33,100 Palestinians have since been killed and over 75,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala