CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley got visibly emotional Friday as he reported on the death of an Israeli hostage.
Ripley reported the death of 73-year-old Gadi Haggai, who had been taken hostage by Hamas terrorists along with his wife Judi. While reporting live from Tel Aviv, Ripley had to stop mid-sentence as his emotions overcame him.
“They were taken, they were shot. Judi … said that her husband was badly hurt at that time on Oct. 7,” he told CNN host Poppy Harlow. “She was able to get in touch with friends before they were kidnapped and they were taken into Gaza.”
“And while we don’t know the exact circumstances of Gadi’s death, we have been hearing from hostages newly released who talk about, just total information blackout, being separated from their loved ones, sometimes being down in underground tunnels, hearing every single airstrike, feeling like maybe they were forgotten about,” Ripley continued as he began to choke up.
“Seventy-three years old, that’s the same age as my parents,” he added. “Um, I can’t imagine what their families have been going through and feeling, Poppy. But this is the situation for families here in Israel, families throughout this whole conflict, families who have been losing loved ones every single day.” (RELATED: John Kirby Starts To Cry During Questioning On CNN About Hamas Attack)
Haggai and his wife were kidnapped during the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Harlow noted. His wife is currently one of the few female hostages still in Hamas hands.
Israel recently attempted to negotiate a deal with Hamas to establish a week-long pause in exchange for releasing 40 hostages, NBC News reported. Hamas rejected this offer.
An estimated 128 hostages are still being held in Gaza, according to The Times of Israel. Hamas initially kidnapped 240 people during the Oct. 7 attack, and 105 Israeli civilians have since been released.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed the deaths of 21 hostages and have recovered eight of those bodies, according to The Times of Israel. The IDF accidentally killed three hostages in the Gaza Strip last week as they exited a building shirtless and raised a stick with a white flag tied on top.