TEL AVIV, Israel. Israel announced on Thursday that it has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the remains of Judih Weinstein, 70, and Gad Haggai, 72, were retrieved and returned to Israel in a joint operation by the army and the Shin Bet security agency. “Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the dear families. Our hearts ache for the most terrible loss. May their memory be blessed,” Netanyahu said.
Weinstein and Haggai were both residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small farming community near the Gaza border. Kibbutz Nir Oz announced their deaths in December 2023. Weinstein, born in New York, also held Canadian citizenship and taught English to children with special needs, while Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician.
According to the military, the couple was killed in the October 7 attack and taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the same group that abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two young children. The remains of Weinstein and Haggai were recovered from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis overnight into Thursday.
The couple’s daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, expressed her relief in a Facebook post: “My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty.” She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI, and the Israeli and U.S. governments, and called for the release of all remaining hostages.
The couple is survived by their four children and seven grandchildren.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Thursday killed at least 22 people, including three local journalists who were in the courtyard of a hospital, according to health officials in Gaza. The Israeli military said it had targeted a militant in that strike.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
