President Biden announced Saturday evening that the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas had been recovered by Israeli forces from a tunnel under the Gaza city of Rafah, including that of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
“I am devastated and outraged,” Biden said. “Hersh was among the innocent people brutally attacked while attending a peace music festival in Israel on October 7. He lost his arm helping friends and strangers in the savage Hamas massacre.”
The Israel Defense Forces identified the other hostages rescued in a statement as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Staff Sergeant Ori Danino.
Goldberg-Polin’s family released a statement early Sunday, hours after the Israeli military announced it had located bodies in Gaza.
“It is with broken hearts that the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the passing of their beloved son and brother, Hersh,” she said. “The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for your privacy at this time.”
Goldberg-Polin was one of the most high-profile hostages, as her parents met with world leaders and tirelessly pleaded for help. Earlier this month, they spoke at the Democratic National Convention, where the crowd chanted “bring them home.”
Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images
In April, Hamas posted a video of an injured man The man, who identified himself as Goldberg-Polin, lost part of his left arm and delivered a lengthy statement that was clearly written by Hamas. A native of Berkeley, California, he lost part of his left arm to a grenade thrown during the October 7 attack.
“We feel extreme despair,” said Rachel Goldberg-Polin, his mother. said “Face the Nation” “We’ve had tremendous access and sympathy, open doors and a lot of hugs from all across the U.S. government. But it’s a very binary situation.”
Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas during the Nova music festival he was attending when the militant group carried out its terrorist attack on October 7.
Graphic video released in June showed Goldberg-Polin and two other hostages kidnapped by Palestinian militants.
Israel’s announcement is bound to spark renewed calls for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement on the repatriation of the remaining hostages. The Israeli leader has taken a hard line in the negotiations and has repeatedly said that military pressure is necessary to repatriate the hostages. According to Israeli media, he clashed with senior security officials who said a deal needed to be reached urgently.
“This is as tragic as it is reprehensible,” Biden, who met with Goldberg-Polin’s parents, said in his statement. “Make no mistake, Hamas’s leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will continue to work around the clock to reach an agreement to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
Asked about the case earlier Saturday, Biden said the bodies were still being identified and families were being notified. He called for an end to the war, however, and said efforts toward a ceasefire were progressing.
“I think we’re close to reaching an agreement,” he said outside the Delaware church. “It’s time to end this. It’s time to end this.”
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, American-born immigrants who settled in Israel, have become perhaps the most high-profile hostage relatives on the international stage. They have met with Mr. Biden, Pope Francis and other figures and have addressed the United Nations to call for the release of all the hostages.
“This is a political convention. But the fact that our only son and all the beloved hostages have to come home is not a political issue. It’s a humanitarian issue,” his father, Jon Polin, said at the DNC on August 21. His mother, Rachel, who bowed her head during the ovation and touched her chest, said: “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive.”
Both wore stickers with the number 320, representing the number of days their son had been held in their arms. It had long been part of a morning ritual: tear off a new piece of tape, mark another day.
She asked others around the world to follow this ritual, not only for her son, who moved to Israel with his family when he was 7, but also for the other hostages and their families.
She and her husband sought to prevent their son and the other inmates from being reduced to a tiny number, describing Hersh as a music and football enthusiast and a traveler who had planned to attend college since his military service ended. During the events, she often spoke directly to her son in the hopes he could hear her, urging him to live another day.
Some 250 hostages were taken on October 7. Before the army announced the latest discovery of bodies, Israel had said it believed 108 hostages were still being held in Gaza and that about a third of them were dead. Earlier this month, the Israeli army announced that Israeli authorities had taken hostages in Gaza. recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza.
Eight hostages were released by Israeli forces, most recent found tuesdayMost of the rest were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Two previous Israeli operations to free hostages have left dozens of Palestinians dead. Hamas claims several hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who managed to escape captivity in December.
