October 7 · Personal story
Hamza Alziadana
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Holit
Current outcome
Returned for burial · January 7, 2025
His remains were recovered with his father’s from a tunnel in Rafah on 7 January 2025; the IDF confirmed his death in captivity after forensic identification on 10 January.
01
Life before
Hamza was 22, married and a father of two. He joined his father Yosef at Kibbutz Holit’s dairy farm about five years before the abduction. His uncle Ali remembered that Hamza loved horses; the family bought him a horse as a gift for his hoped-for return.
02
The abduction
On 7 October 2023, Hamza was at work in the Holit cowshed with his father and brother Bilal; his sister Aisha had joined them. Attackers seized them with two Thai workers after sirens, explosions and gunfire reached the barn. Hamza and his father spoke with the attackers in Arabic.
03
Captivity
Hamza remained in captivity after his sister Aisha and brother Bilal were released on 30 November 2023. Before they left, their father asked them to tell the family he loved them and hoped to return soon. The family later learned that Hamza had been killed in captivity.
04
Recovery and return
The IDF and Shin Bet recovered Hamza’s remains with those of his father from a tunnel in Rafah on the night of 7 January 2025. The initial announcement the next day said findings linked to Hamza raised grave concern for his life; it did not yet announce his identification.
05
Identification and family notification
On 10 January, the IDF said forensic identification had confirmed that Hamza was killed in captivity and that the family had been notified. The announcement came after his remains were recovered; it was a later stage than the physical return to Israel.