Israeli officials said Thursday that they recovered the bodies of an Israeli-American married couple who were killed and taken into the Gaza Strip during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack that ignited the war in the Palestinian enclave.

The Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency, better known as Shin Bet, recovered the bodies of slain hostages Gad Haggai, 72, and Judy Lynn Weinstein, 70, from the Khan Yunis area in the southern Gaza Strip.

“The rescue operation was conducted by IDF troops in coordination with the Intelligence Directorate and special forces,” IDF officials posted Thursday on their Telegram social media page. “The operation was made possible as a result of precise intelligence provided by the Hostage Task Force, the Intelligence Directorate, and the ISA.”

Haggai and Weinstein were killed while on a morning walk near Kibbutz Nir Oz. The Israeli military confirmed their deaths in December 2023.

In the early hours of Oct. 7 morning, Weinstein was able to call emergency services and let them know that both she and her husband had been shot, and send a message to her family.

The Times of Israel said they had been held by the Mujahideen Brigades, a relatively small terror group in the Gaza Strip that also was responsible for the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir.

Weinstein was born in New York and taught English to children with special needs at Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the Gaza border, The Associated Press reported. The kibbutz said she also taught meditation techniques to children and teenagers who suffered from anxiety as a result of rocket fire from Gaza.

Haggai was a retired chef and jazz musician.

“My beautiful parents have been freed. We have certainty,” their daughter, Iris Haggai Liniado, wrote in a Facebook post. She thanked the Israeli military, the FBI and the Israeli and U.S. governments and called for the release of all the remaining hostages.

The couple were survived by two sons and two daughters and seven grandchildren, the kibbutz said.

The victims’ families were notified following formal identification by Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Israel police and the IDF Manpower Directorate’s Hostage Task Force, IDF officials said.

“The IDF and ISA send their deepest condolences to the families and will continue to make every effort possible to bring home all the hostages as soon as possible,” Israeli officials said in a statement.

At least 56 hostages, both living and dead, are believed to be held in Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups.

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.