Man With Waterford Ties Killed In Hamas Attack: Officials

WATERFORD, CT —Hours after the Waterford family of kidnapped Liat Beinin breathed a sigh of relief after she was released by Hamas, joy turned to grief when Beinin learned her husband — who had also been held hostage — was killed.

"Today’s news that Liat Beinin’s husband, Aviv Atzili, was killed by Hamas attackers at the Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 is heartbreaking and infuriating," Rep. Joe Courtney wrote in a statement.

Beinin, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen whose relatives are active members of eastern Connecticut’s Jewish community, was released Wednesday after she was taken from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in the attack and spent several weeks captured, officials said. At the time, her husband was still missing, and officials promised to work to find him and bring him home — but it was far too late.

"The willful inability of Hamas to account for its despicable assault left Aviv’s family totally in the dark about his whereabouts over the last seven weeks," Courtney continued. "The relief Liat and her family in Israel and Connecticut experienced upon her release is now buried in grief."

Beinin is a mother of three adult children, an educator, and a tour guide at the holocaust remembrance center in Jerusalem, The New York Times reported.

Aviv, who was described in a statement from the kibbutz obtained by The Times of Israel as "one of the great pillars" of the community, was part of the Kibbutz Nir Oz civilian security team and set off to fight the Hamas on the morning of the Oct. 7 invasion, the outlet reported.

Aviv was also a "painter, cyclist, lover of the land" who ran a garage for agricultural machinery, the kibbutz statement continued.

Beinin was taken hostage after staying behind in a safe room of their home on the day of the attack, according to The Times of Israel. She was freed along with 15 other hostages Wednesday, the sixth set of releases since a cease-fire began Friday.

Courtney concluded his statement Thursday by quoting Beinin's father: "Revenge, anger – certainly not religious fanaticism — are not parts of a viable agenda to end this nonsense in the Middle East. This can’t go on like this."

Hamas, which has ruled the Palestinian Gaza Strip since 2007, launched an attack inside Israel Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 and taking hundreds of others hostage while seizing settlements. Its unprecedented breach of the border sent fighters inside border communities and military installations, shocked Israel and its allies, and raised questions about the group's capabilities and strategy.

The U.S. State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. The European Union and other Western countries also consider it a terrorist organization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.