The bodies of Gadi Hagai and Judy Weinstein Hagai, who were murdered by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack were recovered from Gaza and returned to Israel on Wednesday night after 607 days.
“My beautiful parents have been released. We have certainty,” wrote daughter Iris on social media. “We welcome the closing of the circle and their return to a proper burial at home, in Israel. We want to thank the IDF and security forces who were involved in the complex rescue operation and for fighting for us for more than a year and a half. However, our hearts will not be whole until all 12 hostages from Nir Oz are returned, and all 56 hostages in total.”
Gadi Hagai, 72, and Judy Weinstein Hagai, 70, were both longtime residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz. Gadi, a dual US-Israeli citizen, was described as “a sharp man, a gifted wind instrument player since the age of three,” a chef who left his position at the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv to manage Nir Oz’s dining hall, and a committed vegan who loved sports and the land. He had served in the IDF’s elite Sayeret Shaked unit before joining the army orchestra. In the 1980s, he founded a band called Brit Jazz. After the couple’s abduction, the family released some of the band’s recordings.
Judy immigrated to Israel from Toronto age 24 and met Gadi at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet. A dual Canadian-Israeli citizen, she later became an English teacher with a focus on children with special needs and anxiety, and had recently studied mindfulness to help children through puppet theater. She was remembered as a “poet, entrepreneur, and peace activist.”
“We are grateful to see them brought home for a proper burial in Israel,” the kibbutz said. “Yet our hearts remain incomplete until all 12 hostages from Nir Oz — and all 56 hostages still held — return home.”
President Isaac Herzog called the moment “one of deep pain, but also one of solace and the resolution of uncertainty.” In a statement, he said: “Judih and Gadi were murdered and abducted together from their home in the peace-loving Kibbutz Nir Oz – the place where they lived, raised a large family, and built their lives. Now, thanks to the rescue operation, they will be laid to rest together in dignity, in the land they so deeply loved.”
The couple was killed during the initial Hamas assault on Nir Oz. While taking one of their routine morning walks, they encountered a terrorist squad in the fields. They were shot and kidnapped to Gaza. Army intelligence confirmed their deaths in December 2023.
According to the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the couple’s remains were held by the Al Mujahideen Brigades, the same group responsible for the abduction of Yarden and Shiri Bibas and their two children, Ariel and Kfir.
The Hagais are survived by four children and seven grandchildren.
At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 56 remaining hostages, 33 are believed to be dead.