A U.S. dual citizen who was among about 240 people arrested in Israel during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack has died in captivity in the Gaza Strip, a group representing the hostages' families told Portal with. Gadi Haggai, 73, also had Israeli citizenship, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
Gadi Haggai and his wife can be seen. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Gadi Haggai's wife Judi, who also has American citizenship, still remains a hostage, the forum said. Gadi Haggai is the first American hostage to die.
Stay updated with breaking news on HT Channel on Facebook. Join now
“Gadi was a man full of humor who knew how to make those around him laugh. He was a musician at heart, a talented flautist, he played in the IDF orchestra and was involved in music throughout his life,” the forum said in a statement. He added that on the morning of October 7, Gadi Haggai and Judi were “taking their regular morning walk in the fields and vineyards” of Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel when they were kidnapped by Hamas.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
“Judi managed to tell friends that they had been shot and that Gadi was critically injured – it was the last contact with them,” it said.
Official Israeli figures show that 129 people remain held in Gaza, after the rest were repatriated under a ceasefire in November or recovered during a military offensive. Of those still in the Gaza Strip, 22 are dead. The forum said between five and 10 of the hostages had U.S. citizenship, although the U.S. Embassy had no comment, Portal reported.
This came as Israel signaled it would expand the ground offensive with a new push into the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military ordered residents of Al-Bureij in central Gaza to move south immediately, signaling a new focus of the ground attack.
{{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Discover a world of benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts to a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away! – Log in now! Get latest world news as well as latest India news at Hindustan Times. ABOUT THE AUTHOR