News
Israel war 2023
Published on December 28, 2023
Updated December 22, 2023, 6:18 p.m. ET
A New York native held captive by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip has been killed and her body is still being held by the terrorists, it was confirmed Thursday.
Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, died as a result of injuries she sustained when terrorists invaded Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, the kibbutz said.
She and her husband were taking their usual walk outside the kibbutz when they were ambushed by Hamas gunmen on motorcycles that morning, relatives said.
News of her death comes just a week after officials confirmed her husband Gadi Haggai, 73, was killed in captivity.
Judith Weinstein Haggai and her husband Gadi Haggai were taking their morning walk near Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 when they were ambushed by radical Hamas terrorists during the attack on Israel. AP
A native of Goshen, New York, Weinstein moved to Israel 30 years ago to find solace in the Jewish state – until Hamas' surprise terrorist attack on October 7 destroyed her peaceful existence.
According to Israel National News, she worked as an English teacher who specialized in working with children with special needs and attention and concentration problems.
Stay up to date on news from the Israel-Hamas war and the global rise in anti-Semitism with The Post's Israel War Update, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Weinstein also helped children suffering from anxiety and depression due to the threat of rockets from Gaza.
Her family described her as a peaceful person – a vegan who wrote haikus daily, CNN reported.
Judith Weinstein Haggai died in captivity. AP
But during the Hamas terror attack, her world turned upside down when Weinstein told a kibbutz member that she had been shot in the arm and wounded in the face and that Haggai had been shot in the head, according to Haaretz.
Shortly before the couple was believed to have been taken hostage, Weinstein was also able to text her daughter in Singapore. A paramedic later told the couple's children that she had called for medical help – but they had lost contact with her.
“She said they were shot by terrorists on a motorcycle and my father was really badly injured,” Iris Weinstein Haggai told the Times of Israel.
“Paramedics tried to send her an ambulance. The ambulance was hit by a rocket.”
The family had not heard from the elderly couple since then.
Judith Weinstein and her husband Gadi Haggai with their family. Haggai family
“We know they were seriously wounded. We know that [Weinstein] still had the phone with him so he could call and ask for help and give details. But since then we have lost all contact with them,” the couple’s niece, Ofri Haggai, 47, told The Post last month.
The phone was found hours later by the Israeli military – raising hopes that the couple may have been among the more than 220 Israelis taken hostage during the brutal attack rather than those killed, she added.
Family members had pushed for Weinstein's release, initially thinking she might be among 50 women and children released as part of a deal last month.
But she never came home and was believed to be the last remaining American woman held hostage in Gaza. Six other American citizens, all men, also remain captive.
The Haggais leave behind four children and seven grandchildren.
Load More…
{{#isDisplay}} {{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}} {{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}} {{/isSRVideo}}
https://nypost.com/2023/12/28/news/judi-weinstein-haggai-new-york-native-held-hostage-in-gaza-has-been-killed/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign =site%20buttons
Copy the URL to share