A British man has spoken of the agony of waiting for news of relatives still missing after the Hamas attack in Israel 10 days ago, after they came under attack during a morning walk.
Arad Haggai, a surveyor based in Epping Forest, Essex, does not know if his uncle and aunt are alive, kidnapped or dead after Hamas attacked the Nir Oz kibbutz where they lived.
Gad Haggai, 73, a retired chef and talented musician, and his wife, Judih Weinstein Haggai, 72, an English teacher and puppeteer originally from Toronto, Canada, were on their regular early morning walk when they messaged relatives to say they were under attack.
The couple, US citizens who have four adult children, had left the kibbutz at about 6.30am on Saturday 7 October, their nephew said.
“At about 6.50am Israel time, they sent a text to the kids, my cousins, that they were under rocket fire and they have to try to hide somewhere in the fields.
“About 15 minutes later, Judih sent a text to the kibbutz security that Gadi, my uncle, was hit badly by the terrorists who were on a motorbike. That was in the first wave of motorbikes, we think.
“She was wounded, but not badly, and she tried to ask for help. But the kibbutz was already under heavy fire, and there is only one bullet-proof ambulance, and they couldn’t move it because the terrorists set it on fire,” Haggai said.
His aunt, who also teaches mindfulness and is described as a “spiritual” woman, managed to send a short clip on her phone that pinpointed their location on a path at that time. But Israeli army and volunteer searches in the area have so far failed to find the couple.
“According to the text, they’re wounded. And there is a possibility that on Saturday morning at 11am or 11.30am, there was a signal from Gaza, the phone was in Gaza. But we are not sure. We can’t verify it 100%.”
Haggai said the family had not heard from the Israeli authorities whether the couple were among the 199 identified hostages taken by Hamas.
They had not been located at any hospital, and the family could not be certain whether they were moved to Gaza as they could not discount the possibility Hamas had taken the couple’s phones.
“So we’re not sure if they took the bodies, if they took them, if they took their phones. We can’t say 100% about the signal from Gaza,” he said. ‘We don’t have any sign of life. We don’t have any pictures, nothing. Nobody knows where they are.
“The Israelis, I don’t think they know. They have verified and know 199 people are missing. And not dead yet. But you can never know because there are so many problems in the kibbutzim.”
Haggai, whose family is originally from the US, was born in Israel and moved to the UK 16 years ago. He is in constant contact with his cousins, two of whom live in Israel, one in Singapore and one in Denver, Colorado.
“The US are helping a lot. They are always in contact with them. I think the American authorities are calling them all the time,” he said.
He said his uncle and aunt moved to the kibbutz about 30 years ago. He had been supposed to visit them this week on a holiday.
“We re doing everything we can,” he said, adding he felt helpless watching the television news.
“It’s a terrorist act. It’s like a pogrom. And we just really feel helpless. The whole thing is beyond the imagination,” he said. “It’s a tragedy for both people. But Hamas is the enemy of Israel and of the Palestinians.”
“I know it is a tragedy what is going on in Gaza. But Hamas is not helping both people to get the two-state solution. And I am pro two-state solution, and Gadi and Judih, they used to be like hippies and always supporting the two-state solution.
“And I think Hamas, and the Jewish extremists … it’s not going to help. It’s only going to cause more and more bloodshed,” he added.
