In a sad development, the White House has announced that an American whose wife was kidnapped by Hamas appears to be dead. 

The man in question is 73-year-old Gad Haggai, someone The Washington Times noted was long thought to be among those who were taken hostage in a terror attack earlier this year.

President and first lady pray for wife's release

President Joe Biden released a statement on Friday regarding the tragedy, saying, "Jill and I are heartbroken by the news that American Gad Haggai is now believed to have been killed by Hamas on October 7."

"We continue to pray for the well-being and safe return of his wife, Judy," he continued, adding, "Their daughter joined by phone my meeting with the families of hostages last week."

"Those families bravely shared with me the harrowing ordeal that they have endured over the past months as they await news of their loved ones," Biden declared, calling the situation "intolerable."

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

Vice president and first gentleman "mourn for Gad Haggai"

The president went on to insist that his administration "will not stop" until all of the hostages that Hamas captured have been set free.

Haggai's death was confirmed by Kibbutz Nir Oz, which is one of Israeli communities hardest hit by the October 7 rampage by Hamas. His dead body was apparently taken to Gaza where his wife Judy is being held captive.

Vice President Kamala Harris put out a statement of her own on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

"Doug and I mourn for Gad Haggai, an American citizen who is now believed to have been killed on October 7 in Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, and we pray for the well-being and safe return of his wife, Judy," she wrote.

"Our thoughts are with their family as they receive this tragic news. As I told the families of Americans held hostage in Gaza: We will not waver in our commitment to bring them home," she added.

Mother of hostage has to rescued by NYPD

Meanwhile, The Jewish Chronicle reported that the mother of an Israeli hostage had to be rescued by police as she attended an event in New York City.

Tonight I attended an Israel event hosted by a prominent Jew in NYC. The event featured 3 speakers, including the incredibly brave mother of Naama Levy, a 19-year-old who has been raped and held captive by Hamas for the past 72 days. (1/X) pic.twitter.com/aHeCUIUXcT

— arielle yael (@AYM_Higher_) December 19, 2023

Video footage appeared on social media showing a mob of pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanting that the NYPD, Israeli Defense Forces, and the Ku Klux Klan are "all the same."