Hostages’ families say recovery of bodies will help ‘heal uncertainty,’ urge deal to bring back rest

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says the return of the bodies of Judih Weinstein and Gadi Haggai will help lessen some of the pain around their slayings during the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, while calling for the government to reach a deal to bring back all remaining hostages held in Gaza.

“The return of the Judih and Gadi is painful and heartbreaking, yet it also brings healing to our uncertainty” around their deaths, the group says in a statement. “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 adds that “there is no need to wait another 608 agonizing days” for a hostage deal to clinch the return of the 56 people still held in Gaza, including the bodies of 33 believed to be dead.

“A grave is not a privilege,” the families say. “A grave is a basic human right, without which personal and national recovery is impossible.”

It notes that the Haggai and Weinstein families have requested privacy at this time.