Israeli-American national killed by Hamas on Oct. 7

An Israeli-American man with deep ties to New York thought to have been taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack was declared dead on Friday.

The death of Gadi Haggai, 73, was announced by Kibbutz Nir Oz, which said it had been determined that Haggai was killed in the kibbutz on Oct. 7 and his body was taken to Gaza.

President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were “heartbroken” by the news of Haggai’s death in a statement issued Friday.

“We continue to pray for the well-being and safe return of his wife, Judy,” Biden said, noting that the couple’s daughter had been part of a phone call he had held with the families of hostages just last week.

“Today we are praying for their four children, seven grandchildren, and other loved ones and are grieving this tragic news with them.”

He went on to reaffirm his pledge to the remaining hostages and their families that the administration “will not stop working to bring them home.”

Haggai had been thought to be among the more than 100 Israeli hostages still alive in Gaza. The announcement did not say how his death had been determined.

It described Haggai as a “gifted wind instrument player … connected to the earth, a chef and a follower of a healthy vegan diet and sports.”

Nir Oz was among the hardest hit communities on Oct. 7, with roughly a quarter of its residents taken hostage or killed.

Haggai’s wife, Judy Weinstein, 70, was wounded and remains in captivity in Gaza, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum representing the families.

“Gadi was a man full of humor who knew how to make those around him laugh,” the families group told the Times of Israel.

“A musician at heart, a gifted flutist, he played in the IDF Orchestra and was involved with music his whole life.”

Haggai, whose mother was born and raised in Manhattan and whose father is from Detroit, and Weinstein, a native of Goshen in upstate New York, moved to Israel 30 years ago, seeking solace in the Jewish state — until Hamas’ surprise terrorist attack on Oct. 7 shattered their peaceful existence, the New York Post reported.

The day they were attacked, Weinstein managed to call one of the kibbutz members for help, saying she had been shot in the arm and was wounded in the face and Haggai had been shot in his head, according to Haaretz.

Shortly before the couple was believed to be taken hostage, Weinstein was also able to text her daughter in Singapore. A paramedic later told the couple’s children that she had called for medical help — but they lost contact with her.

“She said they were shot by terrorists on a motorcycle and that my dad was wounded really bad,” Iris Weinstein Haggai told the Times of Israel.

“Paramedics tried to send her an ambulance. The ambulance got hit by a rocket.”

The family had not heard from the elderly couple since.

“We know that they were badly wounded. We know that (Weinstein) still had the phone with her to be able to call and ask for help and provide details. But ever since then, we lost all contact with them,” the couple’s niece, Ofri Haggai, 47, told The Post last month.

The phone was found hours later by the Israeli military — raising hope that the couple might have been among the more than 220 Israelis taken hostage during the brutal assault, instead of among those killed, she added.

Haggai leaves behind four children and seven grandchildren.

According to an official Israeli tally, 129 people remain held in Gaza after the rest were repatriated in a November truce or recovered during a military offensive. Of those still in Gaza, 22 are dead, the Israeli government says.

The forum said that between five and 10 of the hostages hold U.S. citizenship. The U.S. Embassy had no immediate comment.