Israeli forces recovered the bodies of Gad Haggai and Judi Weinstein-Haggai in a covert overnight operation in the Khan Younis area of Gaza, officials confirmed Thursday, as new details emerged about the intelligence-led mission that brought them home.
The recovery followed precise intelligence gathered by the Hostage Task Force, the Shin Bet internal security agency and Military Intelligence. According to Israeli officials, key information that enabled the rescue was obtained from interrogations of captured terrorists. One detainee provided a detail that significantly reinforced intelligence assessments, enabling the overnight operation between Wednesday and Thursday.
Gad Haggai and Judi Weinstein-Haggai leaving their kibbutz for a morning walk shortly before the October 7 attack
Since the outbreak of the war, the Shin Bet has interrogated thousands of Hamas fighters, extracting information about the terror group’s infrastructure, maneuvering forces and the locations of hostages — both living and deceased. The Haggais were reportedly held in Khan Younis by a smaller terror faction known as al-Mujahedeen.
The couple, dual U.S.-Israeli citizens and longtime residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were abducted by Hamas on the morning of October 7, 2023. They had gone for a walk near their home around 6 a.m., just minutes before the cross-border assault began. Surveillance footage from the kibbutz shows them leaving the front gate at 6:06 a.m.
Roughly an hour later, Judi made a desperate phone call to a fellow kibbutz member who also served as a volunteer medic with Magen David Adom. “Gadi and I were shot,” she told him. He attempted to dispatch an ambulance, but terrorists intercepted and torched the vehicle. Gad's children identified his body being dragged into Gaza in footage from that day, but authorities initially said they could not confirm his death.
On December 22, 2023, the kibbutz announced that Gad had been killed during the attack. A week later, on December 28, it was confirmed that Judi had also been murdered that same morning.
Judi places a call to the emergency hotline in her final moments
(Video: from Facebook)
In her final moments, Judi managed to place a call to the emergency hotline. The call, later released to the public, captures her pleading for help. “Outside the kibbutz, near Gaza, on a path in our fields,” she says. “My husband, I think he's dead and I was hit in the face. Please help us!” When asked by the operator, Esther, if terrorists had shot at them, Judi confirmed and added, “Everything is covered with blood.”
Are you someplace safe now?
"No! Outside, under a tree, next to the road."
Are there still terrorists there?
"Not at the moment."
Listen, I want you for now, to take care of yourself, ok?
"I’ll try."
Tell me, he isn't conscious, correct? He isn't responding?
"He’s not responding."
Did they shoot you too?
"Yes, I am hurt! I the face and the hand."
'Return to a proper burial at home'
The IDF said Thursday morning: “The recovery operation was carried out by IDF forces under Southern Command, in coordination with Military Intelligence and special forces. The operation was made possible thanks to precise intelligence from the Hostage Task Force, Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet. After an identification process conducted at the National Center for Forensic Medicine, together with the Israel Police, the Hostage Task Force from the IDF’s Manpower Directorate delivered the notifications to the family and the Nir Oz community.”
The couple is survived by four children and seven grandchildren. The family issued a message expressing both sorrow and gratitude. “We are grateful for the closure this brings and for their return to a proper burial at home, in Israel,” they said. “We wish to thank the IDF and the security forces who carried out the complex recovery operation and who have been fighting for us for over a year and a half, as well as everyone who supported, struggled, prayed, and fought for us and for the entire people of Israel. That said, our hearts will not be whole until all 12 hostages from Nir Oz — and all 56 remaining hostages — are brought home."
Kibbutz Nir Oz, where the couple resided, said, "After more than 600 days of pain and waiting, the bodies of Gad Haggai and Judi Weinstein-Haggai were brought home overnight in a military operation — back to the State of Israel and to Nir Oz. Gad and Judi will be laid to rest after being murdered and abducted on October 7 in the fields near their home in Nir Oz, and after their family was informed of their deaths in December 2023," the statement read.
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"Gad was kidnapped and murdered at the age of 72. He was a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a father of four and grandfather of seven. A sharp-minded individual, he was a gifted wind instrument musician from the age of three, deeply connected to the land, a chef and an advocate of healthy vegan nutrition and sports. He was abducted to Gaza along with his wife, Judi Weinstein.
"Judi was kidnapped and murdered at the age of 70. A member of Kibbutz Nir Oz, she was a mother of four and grandmother of seven. An English teacher specializing in children with special needs and attention disorders, she also worked with children suffering from anxiety related to the security situation in the Gaza border area, using meditation and mindfulness techniques. She was a poet, an entrepreneur, a creative spirit and deeply committed to promoting peace and coexistence."
Judi immigrated to Israel from Canada at age 24. She first arrived at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet as a volunteer, where she met Gad. Besides her therapeutic work, she also taught yoga, wrote poetry and posted a daily haiku on Facebook—her last was on the morning of October 7. After the 2023 High Holidays, Judi was scheduled to begin a new role at a school in Sha’ar HaNegev, using puppet theater as a form of therapy.
Both held U.S. citizenship, and American officials had worked behind the scenes to bring their remains back for burial.