Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian pro-Palestinian activist has been found dead in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip hours after being abducted.
Arrigoni, 36, was seized on Thursday by a radical group that has been in conflict with Hamas and is seeking the release of its leader.
Police said he was found hanged in a Gaza City house after receiving a tip-off. Two people have been arrested.
Friends of the activist gathered outside the hospital where his body had been taken on Friday morning.
"He came from across the world, left his country and family and his entire life and came here to break the siege, and we kill him? Why?" asked one of his friends.