Biden 'heartbroken' that American believed kidnapped by Hamas is dead

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden said on Friday he was "heartbroken" by the news that an American named Gad Haggai is believed to have been killed by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Oct. 7 when it attacked Israel.

Haggai, a 73-year-old Israeli-American man, was previously thought to have been taken hostage in the attack, along with his wife.

"Jill (Biden) and I are heartbroken by the news that American Gad Haggai is now believed to have been killed by Hamas on October 7. We continue to pray for the well-being and safe return of his wife, Judy," the US president said in a statement released by the White House.

Judith Weinstein, the wife of Haggai, is still being held hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli media outlet Haaretz.

The Biden statement gave no further details about what happened to Haggai.

"Today, we are praying for their four children, seven grandchildren, and other loved ones and are grieving this tragic news with them," Biden said in his statement.

Hamas attacked kibbutzim, border towns and a music festival in Israel on Oct. 7 in a rampage that left 1,200 dead, with 240 people taken to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed over 20,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, with many more missing and presumed buried under rubble.

Haggai "will be remembered as 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, Judi, he lived a healthy, active lifestyle," his family said in a statement cited by Haaretz.

"We mourn the loss of our father and grandfather, and we continue to hope and pray that his body will be returned to us and that Judi is still alive and we will be reunited soon," the family statement added. —Reuters