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The Israeli government on Friday confirmed the death of a 73-year-old Israeli American, Gadi Haggai.
Haggai was killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, and his body was taken by fighters into Gaza, where it is still being held, a spokesperson for his home kibbutz of Nir Oz said in a statement.
His wife, Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, is “still held hostage” by Hamas, the statement said. She is also an Israeli American.
Gadi Haggai was a father of four and grandfather of seven. He “was a man full of humor who knew how to make those around him laugh,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said in a statement. “A musician at heart, a gifted flautist, he played in the [Israel Defense Forces] Orchestra and was involved with music his whole life.”
The couple had lived at Nir Oz for more than 30 years, their daughter Iris Haggai Liniado told The Washington Post in October.
Haggai Liniado, who lives abroad, said she saw a red alert in the area of the kibbutz on the morning of the attack and called her parents, who were out on their daily morning walk. Her mother “told me things are not well, they’re laying face down on the fields and they see hundreds of rockets and they hear gunshots,” she recalled.
She said she later learned that her mother had called the kibbutz paramedic during the attack, saying the couple had been shot and she feared that her husband might be dead. The ambulance was unable to reach them as the kibbutz came under attack, and the paramedic lost contact with them.
President Biden met last week with family members of Americans being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, and promised to keep the families informed at every step of his administration’s efforts to secure their release. Haggai Liniado was among those who attended, joining the meeting by video call.
At least 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, while more than 200 were taken hostage. Over 100 have since been released.
Fewer than 10 Americans remain in captivity in Gaza, according to previous statements by John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.