Gag order was lifted on Tuesday on disappearance of a Zionist-Ethiopian Avera Mengistu, 28, 10 months after he went missing, Haaretz newspaper reported.

A gag order was lifted on Tuesday on disappearance of a Zionist-Ethiopian Avera Mengistu, 28, 10 months after he went missing, Haaretz newspaper reported.

Mengisru's whereabouts are still unknown, but the Zionist daily said he illegally crossed the border into the Palestinian Territory in September 2014.

The Zionist army radio said that he was believed to be held against his will but that Hamas had denied he was in its hands.

Haaretz quoted a security source as saying that the Zionist authorities had no current information about Mengistu's fate.

The Zionist defense minister also disclosed in a statement that in another incident, a Beduin Zionist settler from the Negev is also in Gaza territory, his name is being withheld.

The statement added that he has crossed the border into Gaza several times in the past.

Until Thursday, the two stories were under a gag order in the Zionist entity, but was published in the media in the Arab world and the United States. Mengistu's family was scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Jerusalem Post news website quoted senior security source as saying that Hamas stated that the Zionist settler in their custody was interrogated and released.

"The security source said Hamas' claim is either an attempt to negotiate for the release of Hamas prisoners, or an attempt to cover up an incident that may have threatened Mengistu's life," JPost said.