Son of returned hostages says recovery puts spotlight on those still in Gaza

5 June 2025, 12:16 pm

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Ahl Haggai at his house in Ammikam on December 8, 2023. (MARCO LONGARI / AFP)

The son of Judih Weinstein and Gadi Haggai says he is caught in a swirl of emotions following the news that his parents’ bodies were recovered from Gaza, over 600 days after they murdered and abducted while on a morning walk in their home kibbutz of Nir Oz.

“This is a shocking moment,” Ahl Haggai is quoted telling the Ynet news site. “I am both relieved and anxious. This isn’t simple, despite it easing things and removing something [weighing] on the heart. There was an uncertainty that has ended.”

Haggai says their return “shines a spotlight” on the 56 hostages remaining in Gaza and efforts to bring them home as well.

“This was really surprising and I’m thinking why did we deserve for our loved ones to return and not others,” he says.