Bodies of two U.S. hostages recovered in Israeli military operation in Gaza
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IDF recovers bodies of two Israeli-American hostages from 7 October attack
Judih Weinstein, 70, and Gad Haggai, 72, had Israeli and US citizenship. Their deaths had been announced in December 2023. At least 20 of the 56 remaining hostages are believed to be alive, according to Israel. Most of the hostages were released as part of deals with Hamas during two temporary ceasefires in late 2023 and early 2025. Since the 7 October attacks, Israel has responded with an air and ground assault on Gaza that has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians. In May, a global hunger monitor said half a million people in Gaza faced starvation in the months ahead. Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies in March, claiming Hamas was seizing deliveries for its fighters. The group denies this and aid officials in Gaza have denied there is evidence of any widespread diversion of supplies at any stage of the conflict.
Their deaths had been announced in December 2023. “My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty,” their daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, wrote in a Facebook post. She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI and the Israeli and US governments and called for the release of all the remaining hostages.
In Gaza, food distribution points run by a US-backed group had meanwhile not re-opened by mid-morning after their closure on Wednesday after the killings by Israeli troops of dozens of civilians waiting for food. The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had said its sites were undergoing maintenance and repair work.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes on Thursday killed at least 10 people in the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday that Weinstein and Haggai were murdered by gunmen from the Mujahideen Brigades, a small Palestinian group, when they attacked Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October 2023.
In a statement, the forum of the Israeli hostage families said: “The return of Judi and Gad is painful and heartbreaking, yet it also brings healing to our uncertainty. Their return reminds us all that it is the state’s duty to bring everyone home, so that we, the families, together with all the people of Israel, can begin the process of healing and recovery.’’
The forum stressed that decision-makers ‘‘must do everything necessary to reach an agreement that will return all 56 remaining hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for burial. There is no need to wait another 608 agonising days for this. The mission can be completed as early as tomorrow morning. This is what the majority of the Israeli people want.’’
At least 20 of the 56 remaining hostages are believed to be alive, according to Israel. Most of the hostages were released as part of deals with Hamas during two temporary ceasefires in late 2023 and early 2025.
Since the 7 October attacks, Israel has responded with an air and ground assault on Gaza that has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health authorities, and reduced much of the territory to ruins as food supplies have also been blocked.
On Wednesday, GHF announced that its operations would be suspended for a second day on Thursday in order to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites after Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians, killing at least 27 and injuring hundreds. GHF pressed Israel to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites.
The foundation initially said its operations would be suspended for a single day, but after security talks with the Israeli army on Wednesday, the group posted a message on social media, saying operations would not resume on Thursday. It did not say when the locations would reopen.
Reached by the Guardian, GHF’s spokesperson has not yet responded to a request for a comment.
Israel imposed a blockade on all supplies in March, claiming Hamas was seizing deliveries for its fighters. The group denies this and aid officials in Gaza have denied there is evidence of any widespread diversion of supplies at any stage of the conflict. In May a global hunger monitor said half a million people in Gaza faced starvation in the months ahead.
Bodies Of Two Israeli-American Hostages Recovered From Gaza
The bodies of Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, and her husband, Gad, 72, have been recovered. The couple was kidnapped during a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. Their bodies were retrieved near Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The recovery operation was conducted by Israeli special military forces.
Judi Weinstein Haggai held U.S. and Canadian citizenship, while Gad Haggai was a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen. The Mujahideen Brigades, a small militant group in Gaza, had taken their bodies to the region after the attack in southern Israel. The recovery operation was conducted by Israeli special military forces, based on intelligence gathered by Israel.
The couple had four children and other family members in both Israel and the United States. Their recovery leaves the bodies of two other U.S.-Israeli citizens still held in Gaza. In total, approximately 36 deceased and about 20 living hostages remain captive in the area, according to the Israeli government.
Israel and the United States are advocating for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas and the release of half of the living and deceased hostages. While Hamas has agreed to these terms, they are also calling for discussions to permanently end the conflict.
US group distributing aid in Gaza reopens sites after delays
Aid sites had closed after deadly shootings close to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operations. U.N. has warned that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave. At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, including four journalists in a hospital in the enclave’s north. Israel announced it had recovered the bodies of two dual nationality Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. The bodies of Gadi Hagi and his wife Judy Weinstein-Hagi were killed and taken to Gaza after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Fifty-six hostages remain in captivity, with fewer than half believed to be alive, Israel said on Thursday. The U.S. and international humanitarian groups refuse to work with the GHF because they say aid distribution is essentially controlled by Israel’s military and forces the displacement of Palestinians by limiting distribution points to a few venues in central and southern Gaza. It has said that it has so far distributed at least 7 million meals.
Item 1 of 2 Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Summary Aid sites had closed after deadly shootings close to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operations
US vetoes Gaza ceasefire resolution in UN Security Council
Israeli air strikes kill at least 20 across Gaza
Israel recovers bodies of two hostages from Gaza
CAIRO/JERUSALEM, June 5 (Reuters) – A U.S.- and Israeli-backed organisation distributing aid in Gaza said on Thursday it was reopening two distribution sites a day after shutting them following a series of deadly shootings close to its operations.
The U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said only two sites in southern Gaza’s Rafah area would operate on Thursday, after all sites were closed the day before for maintenance. GHF had opened three sites earlier in the week, and one of Thursday’s sites was in a new location, it said.
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The GHF, which has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations including the United Nations for alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week. The U.N. has warned that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave.
Meanwhile, Israel announced it had recovered the bodies of two dual nationality Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Gadi Hagi and his wife Judy Weinstein-Hagi were killed and taken to Gaza after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Fifty-six hostages remain in captivity, with fewer than half believed to be alive.
The Israeli military has intensified operations in Gaza since breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March, taking more territory with the government pushing to wipe out the Islamist militant group.
At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, including four journalists in a hospital in the enclave’s north, local health authorities said. The military said that it had targeted an Islamic Jihad militant who was operating a command-and-control centre.
The Hamas-run government media office says that 225 journalists in Gaza have been killed since the war began.
The renewed military campaign has further isolated Israel amid mounting international pressure. On Wednesday, a U.S. veto blocked a U.N. Security Council draft resolution, backed by the 14 other members, demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” and full, unrestricted aid access to Gaza.
Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited U.N.-led aid deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later, the relatively unknown GHF launched a new aid distribution system that bypasses traditional relief agencies.
SERIES OF SHOOTINGS
The GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days this week.
The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday its soldiers had fired warning shots, while on Tuesday they also fired warning shots before firing towards Palestinians that it said were advancing towards troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident.
The American organisation, which uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid to its distribution points inside Gaza from where it is collected, has said that it has so far distributed at least 7 million meals.
The U.N. and international humanitarian groups refuse to work with the GHF because they say aid distribution is essentially controlled by Israel’s military and forces the displacement of Palestinians by limiting distribution points to a few venues in central and southern Gaza.
Footage released by the GHF this week showed hundreds of Palestinians crowding its site in Rafah, collecting aid from piles of stacked boxes without any clear system of distribution.
Muslims around the world will begin celebrating Eid al Adha from Thursday, a holiday typically marked by slaughtering livestock, but in Gaza food is scarce after nearly two years of war and Israeli siege.
AID DISTRIBUTION
Israeli opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman accused the government on Thursday of arming Palestinian militias in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said later in a statement that Israel was acting “in various ways” on the recommendation of the security establishment.
Netanyahu’s office did not deny Lieberman’s accusation.
Israeli media reported that Israel had transferred weapons to Yasser Abu Shabab , a leader of a large clan in the Rafah area, now under full Israeli army control.
Abu Shabab previously said that he was building up a force to secure aid deliveries into some parts of Gaza.
Hamas security officials told Reuters Abu Shabab was wanted for “collaborating with the occupation against his people”. They said Hamas forces had killed at least two dozen of his men before January in what they said were clashes with looters of aid trucks.
Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. On Wednesday, a Palestinian transport company contracted by U.N. agencies suspended operations indefinitely after an armed gang intercepted its aid trucks in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, killing one driver and injuring another.
The war in Gaza has raged since Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in the October 2023 attack and took 251 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Reporting by Nidal Al Mughrabi in Cairo and Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem; additional reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai and Emily Rose in Jerusalem; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Sharon Singleton and Mark Heinrich
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Israel says it has recovered the bodies of 2 Israeli-American hostages from the Gaza Strip
The remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered and returned to Israel. Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday killed at least 13 people, including three local journalists. The military said they were killed in the Oct. 7 attack and taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in theOct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies. The offensive has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar have tried to broker another ceasefire and hostage release after Israel ended an earlier truce in March and imposed a blockade in recent weeks. It has offered to hand over power to an independent Palestinian committee to hold talks over a lasting ceasefire and release more Palestinian prisoners.
Associated Press
Tel Aviv, Israel — Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday meanwhile killed at least 13 people, including three local journalists who were in the courtyard of a hospital, according to health officials in the territory. The military said it targeted a militant in that strike.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered and returned to Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency.
“Together with all the citizens of Israel, my wife and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the dear families. Our hearts ache for the most terrible loss. May their memory be blessed,” he said in a statement.
Kibbutz Nir Oz announced the deaths of Weinstein, 70, and Haggai, 72, both of whom had Israeli and U.S. citizenship, in December 2023. Weinstein was also a Canadian citizen.
The military said they were killed in the Oct. 7 attack and taken into Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, the small armed group that it said had also abducted and killed Shiri Bibas and her two small children. The army said it recovered the remains of Weinstein and Haggai overnight into Thursday from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
A teacher who helped children and a chef who played jazz
The couple were taking an early morning walk near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on the morning of Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed across the border and rampaged through several army bases and farming communities.
In the early hours of the morning, Weinstein was able to call emergency services and let them know that both she and her husband had been shot, and send a message to her family.
Weinstein was born in New York and taught English to children with special needs at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the Gaza border. The kibbutz said she also taught meditation techniques to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety as a result of rocket fire from Gaza. Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician.
“My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty,” their daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, wrote in a Facebook post. She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI and the Israeli and U.S. governments and called for the release of all the remaining hostages.
The couple were survived by two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren, the kibbutz said.
Reporters among 13 killed in Israeli strikes
At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis overnight, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. It was not immediately clear if the strikes were related to the recovery mission.
In Gaza City, three local reporters were killed and six people were wounded in a strike on the courtyard of the al-Ahli Hospital, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It did not immediately identify the journalists or say which outlets they worked for.
The Israeli military said it struck an Islamic Jihad militant operating in the courtyard. The army says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is embedded in populated areas.
Over 180 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the vast majority of them in Gaza, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel has said many of those killed in its strikes were militants posing as reporters.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 hostages. They are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages from Gaza and recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Ceasefire talks deadlocked
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to broker another ceasefire and hostage release after Israel ended an earlier truce in March and imposed a blockade that has raised fears of famine, despite being eased in recent weeks. But the talks appear to be deadlocked.
Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. It has offered to hand over power to a politically independent Palestinian committee.
Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Israel will only agree to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the return of hostages. He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile.
He has said Israel will maintain control over Gaza indefinitely and will facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries. The Palestinians and much of the international community have rejected such plans, viewing them as forcible expulsion that could violate international law.
Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed.
Israel says it recovered the bodies of 2 U.S.-Israeli hostages
The bodies of Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, and her husband, Gad, 72, were recovered and returned to Israel. The military said the remains were recovered in an area near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The recovery leaves the bodies of two U.S.-Israeli citizens still held in Gaza.
Hostages and Missing Families Forum/Reuters
TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said it retrieved the bodies of two U.S.-Israeli hostages in an operation by the country’s special military forces.
The bodies of Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, an Israeli who held U.S. and Canadian citizenship, and her husband, Gad Haggai, 72, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, were recovered and returned to Israel, the country’s military said.
The military said the remains were recovered in an area near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
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The two were killed in southern Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the military added, and their bodies were taken to Gaza by the Mujahideen Brigades, a small militant group in Gaza.
The recovery operation was based on intelligence gathered by Israel, said an Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military protocol.
The couple had four children, as well as other family members in Israel and the U.S., the official said.
The recovery leaves the bodies of two U.S.-Israeli citizens still held in Gaza. In total, around 36 deceased and about 20 living hostages are still captive in Gaza, according to the Israeli government.
Israel and the U.S. want a temporary ceasefire with Hamas and the release of half of the living and dead hostages. Hamas has agreed but demands talks for a permanent end of the war.