A Tanzanian agricultural student who had been reported missing after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel was killed in the assault, the Tanzanian government announced on Thursday.
The Tanzanian, Joshua Mollel, who was part of an Israeli-sponsored farm program, was “immediately killed after being kidnapped by Hamas,” Tanzania’s foreign minister, January Makamba, said in a statement.
Mr. Makamba did not provide details about how Mr. Mollel was killed, where or how his body was found, or how the government knew he had died immediately. He said he had spoken to Mr. Mollel’s father, who he said would travel to Israel to meet with officials there.
Mr. Mollel is the second Tanzanian citizen confirmed to have been killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, when Hamas fighters rampaged across the border from Gaza and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped about 240 others, according to Israeli officials.
Last month, the foreign ministry said another Tanzanian citizen, Clemence Felix Mtenga, had been killed in the attacks.
Mr. Mollel and Mr. Mtenga were among 260 Tanzanians involved in an agricultural internship program sponsored by the Israeli government. Mr. Mtenga’s body was repatriated to Tanzania last month and was buried in Kirwa, his family’s hometown in the country’s northeast.
For several years, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to improve economic and political ties with African governments. In 2016, Mr. Netanyahu became the first Israeli leader to travel to Africa in decades, visiting Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, which is home to a sizable Jewish population.
He has made more trips to the continent since, yielding defense and security agreements along with commercial investments in Israeli sectors including irrigation, energy and agriculture.
After many foreign workers who picked fruits and vegetables left Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks, the country is turning to Africa to fill the labor gap. Last month, Malawi’s government said it had sent more than 200 farmworkers to Israel and that more would follow, a decision that was criticized by opposition and civil society groups. Last week, Kenya’s government followed suit, saying it would send 1,500 casual laborers to Israel to work on farms for a $1,500 monthly salary, far more than they could earn at home.
