Israeli forces recover bodies of 2 hostages with U.S. citizenship held in Gaza
Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of two hostages with dual Israeli-U S citizenship Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gadi Haggai a married couple whose remains were being held by Hamas in Gaza since the beginning of the war there in October The Israeli military and Shin Bet Israel s domestic shield agency recovered the bodies of Weinstein-Haggai and Gadi Haggai in a special operation Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a announcement Thursday morning The couple from Kibbutz Nir Oz were killed during the Hamas-led Oct terror attacks in which around people were killed and taken hostage according to NBC News Since then more than people including thousands of children have been killed in Gaza during Israel s ensuing military offensive according to the Palestinian strength ministry there Weinstein-Haggai and Haggai s status had initially been unclear in the aftermath of the attacks but President Joe Biden declared in December that Weinstein-Haggai was located to have been killed on Oct along with Haggai Our hearts ache for the the greater part terrible loss May their memory be privileged Netanyahu declared after the bodies of Weinstein-Haggai and her husband were recovered We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our abductees home the living and the dead alike he added Weinstein-Haggai and her husband were among four Israeli-Americans whose bodies were considered to remain in Hamas captivity with Itay Chen and Omer Neutra still maintained to be held in Gaza Edan Alexander who was thought to be the last living U S citizen held captive in Gaza was freed on May after being taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct attacks In a message Thursday the Hostages and Missing Families Forum which represents families of the hostages held in Gaza reported the return of Weinstein-Haggai and her husband s remains for proper burial in their beloved homeland represents the closing of a circle and the fulfillment of the state s fundamental obligation to them They reiterated calls for the Israeli governing body to do everything in its power to reach a ceasefire agreement that would see the rest of the more than hostages who remain held in Gaza both alive and dead to be returned So far efforts to negotiate a new ceasefire deal have failed to produce a end after the last one fell apart in March with Israel and Hamas trading blame for the failure to reach a truce This story first appeared on NBCNews com More from NBC News Trump announces movement ban on countries and partial restrictions for others Andrew Cuomo faces attacks from all sides during raucous N Y C mayoral debate Trump orders an probe into Biden and his alleged use of the autopen
