Family of missing Kibbutz Nir Oz couple: We’re desperate – no one knows where they are

The family of an Israeli-American couple from Kibbutz Nir Oz are desperately trying to find out what has become of them — “but no one knows where they are”.

Arad Haggi is the London-based nephew of Gadi and Judy Haggi, aged 73 and 72, who had both lived on the kibbutz for around 30 years.

Judy, an English teacher, had made aliyah from Toronto many years previously, while her husband, a one-time highly talented musician and skilled chef, was Israel-born but had spent much time in America — and both had dual nationality.

Arad Haggi said: “They were both retired and had taken to long early morning walks in the fields around the kibbutz. On October 7, they were out for their usual walk when Judy texted my cousins (the couple had four adult children) that they were under heavy rocket fire, and they had to hide in the fields. That was at about ten to seven”.

Ten minutes later, Arad said: “Judy was texting the kibbutz security, saying, please help us, Gadi has been shot by terrorists, and I am wounded too. Please help us, get us out of here if you can.”

But by that time, Arad told Jewish News, “the kibbutz was overrun by terrorists. They had only one bullet-proof ambulance and it had been set on fire. That was the last text. But Judy did manage to make a short video clip and send that, and according to that clip, [people searching for the couple] recognised where they had been when she sent the text.”

On Monday — October 9 — the army went to look for the couple. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Arad said, “civilians searched, but nobody knows where they are.”

The family has tried to locate Judy and Gadi by phone, and there is “a possibility” that Judy’s phone might be in Gaza. But the relatives know that the couple were both badly wounded, and Arad says “we don’t have any clue” as to what has happened to them.

Arad — who had been supposed to be in Israel at this time — is doing his best from London to get his aunt and uncle’s story out there. His sister and cousins are in Israel and, he says, the Americans are helping. And he is hopeful that with newly-developed face recognition software, it might be possible to identify them in any hostage videos which Hamas puts on line.

“They were a creative couple”, says Arad. “And they believed in peace, they were artists. I’ll never give up telling people about them”.