'Sharp, gifted musician': Who was Gadi Haggai, the hostage returned from Gaza captivity?

Haggai and his wife had been out walking early on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked them.

The body of Israeli-American hostage Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was returned to Israel early Thursday morning, the IDF announced.

Gadi was a father of four and a grandfather of seven. He and his wife, Judy Weinstein Haggai, were killed on October 7, 2023, and their bodies were taken to Gaza.

“We welcome the closure that we have been granted and the return for burial of our loved ones, who went out for a walk on that Black Sabbath morning and never came back," the Weinstein Haggai family said Thursday.

The family thanked the IDF and security forces who carried out the complex rescue operation. They also thanked "everyone who supported, struggled, prayed, and fought for us and for all of Israel," as well as the FBI, and the US and Israeli governments.

"However, our hearts will not be whole until all 12 hostages from Nir Oz and all 56 hostages in total are brought back," the family concluded.

His family called Gadi a "gifted man, with sharp intellect and a love for wind instruments, which he played since he was a young child. He was a talented chef, and alongside his wife, Judy, he lived a healthy, active lifestyle,” Haaretz reported in December.

Gadi was “a sharp person, a gifted musician from the age of three, a chef and a follower of a healthy vegan diet," Kibbutz Nir Oz said.

The power couple of Nir Oz

Judy and Gadi were the "power couple of Kibbutz Nir Oz." Judy was volunteering on the kibbutz when she heard Gadi playing the flute and fell in love, the kibbutz said.

"They complete each other: he’s a goofball, just like a little kid, always dancing and laughing, while Judy is an English teacher, taking care of children, and sharing meditation and mindfulness techniques,"

Haggai and his wife had been out walking early on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked them, according to the Hostage Family Forum. Their daughter, Iris, heard in a phone call that they were hiding and that her father was injured, and later lost contact with them. The terrorists kidnapped both of them and took them to Gaza.