A collected photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

JERUSALEM, June 5, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the bodies of two Israeli-Americans killed in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and held in Gaza had been returned to Israel.

"In a special operation by the (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist organisation Hamas were returned to Israel: Judy Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz, may their memory be blessed," Netanyahu said in a statement.

"Judy and Gad were murdered on October 7 and abducted to the Gaza Strip."

A joint statement from the army and the Shin Bet security agency said that the bodies were recovered from the Khan Yunis area of the southern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation.

"The rescue operation was conducted by... troops in coordination with the intelligence directorate and special forces," it added.

The spokesperson for the kibbutz in southern Israel where the elderly couple lived said in a statement that "after more than 600 days of pain and waiting, the bodies of Gad Haggai and Judy Weinstein Haggai were brought back home to the State of Israel and to Nir Oz last night in a military operation".

The kibbutz said Gad Haggai was 72 at the time of the October 2023 attack and Judy Weinstein Haggai was 70.

Gad, a music lover and talented cook, and Judy, a former English teacher, have four children and seven grandchildren, according to the kibbutz.

"We welcome the closure of the circle and their return for a proper burial at home, in Israel," the family was quoted as saying in the statement from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

"We want to thank the (military) and security forces involved in the complex rescue operation and for fighting for us for over a year and a half, and to everyone who supported, fought, prayed and struggled for us and for the entire people of Israel," they added.

Israel has recently stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a bid to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,335 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,607, mostly civilians.

Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's attack, 55 remain in captivity, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.