Judi Haggai: US-Canadian confirmed dead in Gaza

Image source, Hostages and Missing Families Forum

An Israeli-American-Canadian national thought to be being held hostage in Gaza was killed by Hamas in the 7 October attack on Israel, the kibbutz community she was taken from says.

Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, was “fatally wounded” during the raid on Kibbutz Nir Oz, the statement said.

Her husband, Gadi Haggai, 73, was also killed by Hamas, the White House announced last week.

Their bodies are being held in Gaza, a Nir Oz spokesperson said.

Kibbutz Nir Oz said in a statement that it was with “great sorrow” that they announced the death of Ms Weinstein.

It described her as an English teacher who had specialised in teaching children with additional needs, adding that she was “a poet, entrepreneur, and pursued many initiatives to advance peace in the region”.

The Haggai family said in a statement cited by AFP that “there are no words to describe the pain of losing our parents and grandparents to the massacre that took place on our kibbutz.

“We pray that their bodies… will be soon returned to us, and that their murders are a reminder for leaders everywhere to bring the hostages home now before it is too late.”

US President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was “devastated” to learn of Mr Haggai’s death.

“This tragic development cuts deep, coming on the heels of last week’s news that Judith’s beloved husband, Gad Haggai, is believed to have been killed by Hamas.”

Mr Biden said he would “never forget” what the Haggai’s daughter and other relatives of US hostages held in Gaza have shared with him.

“They have been living through hell for weeks. No family should have to endure such an ordeal. And I reaffirm the pledge we have made to all the families of those still held hostage: we will not stop working to bring them home.”

Ms Haggai had family ties to New York state in the US, the BBC’s US partner CBS reports. In a post on X, New York state Governor Kathy Hochul said she was “heartbroken to learn” of Ms Weinstein’s death.

“My heart is with her family abroad and those still here in New York. May her memory be a blessing and may the many hostages still in captivity be brought home safely.”

On the day of the 7 October attack, Ms Haggai had been out on a walk with her husband near Nir Oz.

Upon hearing sirens, she sent a short video of the scene to a group chat. She also alerted friends and family members that they had been wounded, before ceasing contact.

Speaking to the Times of Israel after the attack, the couple’s daughter Iris Weinstein Haggai said her mother had told her they had been “shot by terrorists on a motorcycle and that my dad was wounded really bad”.

“Paramedics tried to send her an ambulance. The ambulance got hit by a rocket,” she said.

Approximately 240 hostages were taken during the Hamas raid on Israel on 7 October, which left 1,200 people dead.

Of that total, 110 were freed during a temporary ceasefire in late November. A further 23 were declared dead in absentia on Thursday, an Israeli government spokesperson quoted by Reuters news agency said.

Last week, the White House said it believed eight Americans were still in Hamas captivity.

During a meeting with representatives of families of the hostages on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “we will not give up on anyone”.

“We are working to return them all. This is our goal.”

His comments followed demonstrations by thousands of teenagers, who walked towards the Israeli parliament – the Knesset – earlier on Thursday demanding the immediate release of hostages held in Gaza.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says over 21,320 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel started its retaliatory campaign.