President Biden announced Saturday afternoon that the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas were found by Israeli forces in a tunnel under the Gaza city of Rafah, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
“I am devastated and angry,” Mr. Biden said. “Hersh was among the innocent people who were brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on October 7. He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during the brutal Hamas massacre.”
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement identified the other hostages that have been recovered as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino.
The Goldberg-Polin family issued a statement on Sunday, hours after the Israeli army said it had found a body in Gaza.
“It is with heavy hearts that the Goldberg-Polin family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of their beloved son and brother, Hersh,” it said. “The family thanks you for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
Goldberg-Polin is one of the most famous hostages because her parents have met with world leaders and are constantly asking for help. Earlier this month, he addressed the Democratic National Convention, where the crowd chanted “bring it home.”
In April, Hamas released a video of the wounded man missing left hand who identified himself as Goldberg-Polin, sent a long statement that was clearly made by Hamas. A native of Berkeley, California, he lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the October 7 attack.
“We feel very desperate, desperate,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin, her mother, to “Face the Nation” in early April. “And we’ve had great access and sympathy, and open doors and a lot of hugs from everybody in the U.S. government. But it’s a very binary situation.”
Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova music festival she was attending when the militant group carried out the October 7 terrorist attack.
Video graphics released in June shows Goldberg-Polin and two other hostages kidnapped by Palestinian militants.
Israel’s announcement will bring an urgent new call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a deal to bring back the remaining hostages. Israeli leaders have taken a hard line in negotiations and have repeatedly said military pressure is needed to bring back the hostages. According to Israeli media, he has clashed with top security officials who say a deal needs to be done quickly.
“It’s as tragic as it is inexcusable,” Mr. Biden, who has met with Goldberg-Polin’s parents, said in a statement. “Make no mistake, the leadership of Hamas will pay for this crime. And we will continue to work around the clock to reach a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
Asked about the case on Saturday, Mr Biden said the body was still being identified and the family had been notified. But he called for an end to the fighting and said ceasefire efforts were progressing.
“I think we’re in (the) agreement,” he said as he left the church in Delaware. “It’s time to finish. It’s time to finish.”
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, US-born immigrants in Israel, are perhaps the most high-profile hostage relatives on the international stage. He met with Mr. Biden, Pope Francis and others and spoke to the United Nations, asking for the release of all the hostages.
“This is a political convention. But taking our only son — and all the respectable hostages — home is not a political issue. It’s a humanitarian issue,” his father, Jon Polin, told the DNC on August 21. , Rachel, who bowed her head during the ovation and touched her chest, said “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, stay safe.”
They both wore stickers with the number 320, indicating the number of days their son had been arrested. It has long been part of my morning ritual – tear off a new piece of tape, write another day.
He asked others around the world to perform the ritual, not only for his son, who immigrated to Israel with his family when he was 7, but for the other hostages and their families.
He and his wife tried to keep their son and others from being reduced to numbers, describing Hersh as a lover of music and football and traveling with plans to attend university since his military service ended. On occasions he often spoke directly to his son in the hope that he would listen to him, begging him to bring him back to life.
About 250 hostages were taken on October 7. Before the military announcement about the latest discovery of bodies, Israel said it believed 108 hostages were still being held in Gaza and about one-third of them had died. Earlier this month, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of the six hostages in southern Gaza.
Eight hostages have been rescued by Israeli forces, most recently found on Tuesday. Most others 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 the hostages killed many Palestinians. Hamas said several hostages had been killed in Israeli airstrikes and that rescue efforts had failed. Israeli forces mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.