Hamas security officials say they have found the body of an Italian peace campaigner in an abandoned Gaza City house following his abduction by radical Palestinian militants.
The officials said Friday that Hamas police stormed an apartment in Gaza City belonging to a member of a Jihadist Salafi group aligned with al-Qaida. They found the body inside.
The group on Thursday released a video of the kidnapped activist, identified as Vittorio Arrigoni of Italy.
In a YouTube clip posted by his abductors, the extremist group demanded that Hamas free its leader and two other members arrested early last month by 1400 GMT Thursday or they would execute Arrigoni.
The Italian national was shown blindfolded with a large bruise on his face. A hand can be seen pulling his head up by his hair to face the camera.
Two suspected kidnappers have been arrested, and others were being sought for Arrigoni’s killing. The journalist and writer had worked for a pro-Palestinian group called the International Solidarity Movement.
Before his body was found, the Italian Foreign Ministry said it was aware of the kidnapping and was taking steps to ensure Arrigoni’s safety.
The incident is the first kidnapping of a foreigner since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.
Most of those previously abducted were foreign journalists, including Alan Johnston of the BBC, who was held for 114 days by an al-Qaida-inspired group before his release in 2007.
Hamas has denied that al-Qaida is present in Gaza.
There are five major Salafist groups in Gaza. The movement espouses an austere form of Sunni Islam that seeks a return to practices common in the early days of the faith. Their religious observances and refusal to abide by various cease-fires with Israel put them at odds with Hamas.
