- By Bernd Debusmann Jr
- BBC News, Washington
Image source, Hostages and Missing Families Forum
Gadi Haggai and his wife Judi were taken captive near Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October
A dual US-Israeli citizen held hostage in Gaza has reportedly died in Hamas captivity, according to the Missing Persons Families Forum.
Gadi Haggai, 73, was taken alongside his wife Judi near Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel on 7 October.
It is unclear when or how Mr Haggai died. It is believed his remains are being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Between five and 10 US citizens are still being held hostage, according to the group.
Mr Haggai, a retired chef and musician, was walking with his wife near Nir Oz on 7 October when the initial Hamas attack on southern Israel took place.
In a statement, forum spokesperson Liat Bell Sommer described Mr Haggai as a “man full of humour who knew how to make those around him laugh”, as well as a gifted flautist and “musician at heart”.
During the attack, his wife alerted friends and family members that they had both been wounded. There has been no contact with the couple since.
“She said they were shot by terrorists on a motorcycle and that my dad was wounded really bad,” the couple’s daughter Iris Weinstein Haggai was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel. “Paramedics tried to send her an ambulance. The ambulance got hit by a rocket.”
The forum did not say how they received the information of Mr Haggai’s death.
Approximately 240 hostages were taken during the Hamas raid on Israel on 7 October, which left 1,200 people dead.
According to Israeli government statistics cited by Reuters, 129 people remain in Gaza, including 22 who are dead. The rest of the hostages were repatriated during a brief November truce or have been recovered during Israeli military operations.
The forum believes that between five and 10 of the remaining hostages hold US citizenship. Earlier this week, the White House said it believes eight Americans are still in Hamas captivity.
In a White House briefing earlier this week, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the US is in “serious talks and negotiations” over another humanitarian pause and hostage exchange.
Hamas, for its part, has ruled out any more hostage releases until Israel agrees to a “full cessation of aggression”.