Tel Aviv – The bodies of Judi and Gadi Haggai, an elderly Israeli-American couple kidnapped during Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel, were recovered overnight in Gaza by Israeli forces, the military said on Thursday.
The remains were located in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza and identified after forensic checks. The couple were believed to have been murdered on the day of the attack at Kibbutz Nir Oz, where they lived.
“They went out for a walk on that cursed Saturday morning and never came back,” the family said in a statement. “We are grateful for closure and to finally bring them home for a proper burial.”
Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, also held Canadian citizenship. Her husband, Gadi, was 72. Both were among the 251 people kidnapped in the surprise cross-border assault led by Hamas and its affiliates, including the Mujahideen Brigades. Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed that day, the deadliest in Israel’s history.
Their final moments, shared in a brief video message, showed the couple crouching in a field under rocket fire. Judi later texted family to say they’d been shot by gunmen on a motorcycle. “My dad was wounded really badly,” their daughter, Iris, recalled. An ambulance dispatched to reach them was hit by a rocket before it could arrive.
In December, Nir Oz officials announced they believed the couple had died during the initial attack, but their bodies remained in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences on Thursday. “Our hearts grieve over this terrible loss,” he said. “We will not rest, nor will we be silent, until we return home all of our hostages the living and the deceased.”
An Israeli military official said the retrieval of the bodies followed “precise intelligence” gathered by the army and the Shin Bet internal security service. While the operation’s full details remain classified, Israeli media reported that key information came from interrogating a captured Palestinian fighter.
The recovery brings the known number of hostages still held in Gaza to 56, of whom at least 20 are believed to be alive. So far, 199 people have been returned 148 alive mostly through temporary ceasefire deals brokered in late 2023.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a civilian advocacy group, said the discovery of the Haggais’ bodies underscores the urgent need for a new truce. “There is no need to wait another 608 agonising days for this,” the group said. “A deal can be reached tomorrow morning if there is political will.”
Fighting in Gaza has intensified in recent weeks. Israeli forces relaunched operations in the south after declaring Khan Younis a renewed military zone. More than 640,000 Palestinians have been displaced again, according to aid groups. The Hamas-run health ministry claims over 54,000 people have died in Gaza since the war began, a figure that cannot be independently verified.
A proposed US-backed deal would see Hamas return 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners. But talks collapsed last week, with both sides accusing each other of sabotage.
Hamas insists any agreement must guarantee a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal. Israel has called those terms “unacceptable”.
Meanwhile, families like the Haggais’ continue to wait.
“It’s too late for our parents,” their daughter said. “But it’s not too late for others. Bring them home.”
