# Israeli Forces Recover Bodies of Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai in Gaza
*Event date: 2025-06-05*
By IO Digest Desk
Israeli forces recovered the bodies of Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai in Gaza on June 5, 2025, according to statements from the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal security agency and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
NBC News reported that the couple, both dual Israeli-U.S. citizens, were killed during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack and that their remains had been held in Gaza since the start of the war. The recovery was carried out in what Israeli authorities described as a special operation based on precise intelligence.
Weinstein-Haggai was 70 and Gad Haggai was 72. The two were from Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities hardest hit during the October 7 assault. NBC said the broader attack killed around 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken into Gaza, setting off the war that has continued to reverberate across the region.
The Israeli military and Shin Bet said in a joint statement that the couple had been killed and taken into Gaza by members of the Mujahideen Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement. The agencies said the family and the Nir Oz community were informed after the remains were recovered.
Their status had once been uncertain. NBC noted that then-President Joe Biden said in December 2023 that Weinstein-Haggai had been confirmed killed on October 7, along with her husband. The latest operation therefore did not change the assessment that they had died during the initial attack, but it did return their bodies to Israel after more than a year and a half.
Netanyahu said the country would not rest until all abductees, living and dead, were brought home. That message reflects the continuing political and emotional force of the hostage issue inside Israel, where pressure on the government has remained intense as relatives of captives demand either military recovery or a ceasefire deal that would secure returns.
NBC also reported that the recovery narrowed the number of Israeli-Americans whose remains were believed to still be in Gaza. It said Itay Chen and Omer Neutra were still believed to be held, while Edan Alexander, described as the last living U.S. citizen believed to be captive in Gaza, had been freed on May 12.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the return of Weinstein-Haggai and Haggai for burial represented the fulfillment of a basic obligation by the state. At the same time, the group repeated calls for a ceasefire agreement to bring back the more than 50 hostages still believed to remain in Gaza, whether alive or dead.
That appeal underscores the double meaning of the June 5 operation. For one family and one kibbutz community, it closed a devastating chapter by ending the uncertainty over whether the remains would ever be returned. For the Israeli government and for families of the remaining captives, it was also a reminder that the hostage crisis is still unresolved and continues to shape the wider war, diplomacy and domestic politics.
