The Israeli military has said that its troops recovered the body of a hostage in Gaza and brought it back to Israel following a “complex and difficult operation”, AFP reports.

In a statement, the military said: “The troops located and recovered the body of hostage Youssef al-Zayadna from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip and returned his body to Israel”.

Earlier, Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the remains of Zayadna’s son, Hamza, had also been brought to Israel.

The military clarified that the son’s body had not been recovered, although “findings were located related to Hamza … which raise serious concerns for his life”.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said in an online briefing that troops carried out what he described as a “complex and difficult special operation” to retrieve the body.

The father’s body was “brought to Israel for an identification process, after which we confirmed his identity and notified his family. We are currently investigating the circumstances of his death”, Shoshani said.