2 more Americans identified among abductees in Gaza

Washington, Oct 20 (IANS) Two more Americans have been identified as among those who were kidnapped after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and taken to the Gaza Strip, a media report said citing a family member.

Iris Haggai-Liniado told CNN on Thursday that her parents, Judih Weinstein Haggai (70) and Gadi Haggai (72) ,were on their morning walk about a mile and a half from their home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz just a few miles from the Gaza border" when they heard an extraordinary number of rockets flying overhead". 

They tried to call for help as rockets blasted in from Gaza, with gunfire in the distance, Iris said, adding that was the last moment she heard from her parents.

According to the family, Israeli military officials and police finally spoke to them earlier this week and confirmed signals from her parents’ mobile phones were last tracked in Gaza.

After hours of frantically calling her parents and trying to get information from others in the community of Nir Oz, Iris said she and her family finally heard from a local paramedic who was trying to get help to them. 

“He said that my mom called him at 7.04 a.m., she said that they were both shot by terrorists on a motorcycle, that my Dad is shot really bad, and she thinks he might be dead and that she needs medical assistance,” she told CNN. 

“It’s just chaos basically, I don’t think anyone really knows how to handle this."  

Iris said her mother was born in New York but grew up in Toronto before moving to Israel in her 20s where she met and married Gadi.

The family has not been in touch with the Canadian government, she said, but remains in near-daily contact with US officials, including the FBI.

They participated in a virtual call with US President Joe Biden last week, she added.

According to the US State Department, 32 Americans have been confirmed dead in Israel, while 11 others remain missing.