Reuters. Israel’s military recovered the bodies of two hostages, Judi Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai, who were held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday (June 5).
The Israeli army said in a statement that the bodies of the husband and wife were recovered in a special operation from Khan Younis area in the Gaza Strip.
Judi and Gad were seen on their Kibbutz Nir Oz security cameras early on Oct. 7, 2023 as they headed out of the fenced community for a pre-dawn walk.
They were killed during a Hamas led attack on southern Israeli communities the same morning, and their bodies were taken hostage into the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian gunmen killed 1,200 and took 251 hostages, most of them civilians, during the Oct. 7 attack. Israel in response launched a military campaign in Gaza, killing 54,000 Palestinians according to local health authorities.
Following the recovery of the couple’s bodies, 56 hostages are still held by Hamas, with fewer than half believed to be alive, according to Israeli estimates.
