JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the bodies of two Israeli-Americans killed in Hamas’ 7 October 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 organization 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.