International Courant
Rachel Goldberg and Jonathan Polin, the dad and mom of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage within the October 7 Hamas assaults, attend a rally by households of prisoners calling for his or her launch close to Kibbutz Nirim in southern Israel, on the Gaza border, on August 29, 2024.
Jack Guez | AFP | Getty Photographs
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American who was taken hostage throughout the October 7 Hamas terror assaults, is one among six hostages whose our bodies had been discovered Saturday.
“With damaged hearts, the Goldberg-Polin household is devastated by the passing of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The household thanks all of you on your love and help and requests your privateness presently,” a household consultant mentioned.
President Joe Biden mentioned the our bodies of Goldberg-Polin and 5 different hostages held by Hamas had been present in a tunnel beneath Rafah.
“I’m devastated and outraged,” Biden mentioned within the assertion.
The Israeli navy recognized the hostages as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Grasp Sgt. Ori Danino.
It was mentioned that the IDF and Shin Guess retrieved the our bodies from the tunnel and returned them to Israeli territory. It was mentioned that they’d all been taken hostage and murdered by Hamas within the Gaza Strip on October 7.
“The IDF and ISA lengthen their honest condolences to the households,” the assertion mentioned. “The IDF and Israeli Safety Forces are doing every thing they will to deliver all hostages house as quickly as attainable.”
Goldberg-Polin, 23, was one of many hostages throughout the assault on the Supernova music competition within the Israeli desert. He misplaced his arm in a grenade explosion.
His dad and mom have been seen and outspoken advocates for bringing the hostages house, together with one passionate plea earlier than his launch throughout the Democratic Nationwide Conference
“They’re relentless and timeless champions of their son and of all hostages held in unfair circumstances. I like them and grieve with them extra deeply than phrases can categorical,” Biden mentioned. “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders can pay for these crimes. And we are going to proceed to work day and evening to safe a deal to safe the discharge of the remaining hostages.”
Earlier on Saturday, Biden referred to as for an finish to the warfare.
“We have got to finish this warfare,” Biden mentioned. “I feel we’re on the verge of a deal. And it is simply time to finish it. It is time to end it.”
Vice President Kamala Harris mourned Goldberg-Polin’s dying, saying in a press release that her prayers are together with his dad and mom and “all who knew and cherished Hersh.” She additionally strongly condemned Hamas, calling it “an evil terrorist group” that now has “extra American blood on its fingers.”
“The menace Hamas poses to the individuals of Israel — and to Americans in Israel — should be eradicated, and Hamas can not management Gaza,” she mentioned within the assertion, which she made in her official capability as vp, not throughout her presidential marketing campaign.
Messages of grief and outrage poured in from Biden administration officers and politicians on Saturday night.
“Our hearts break for Jon, Rachel and their complete household, and for the opposite households who discovered immediately that their family members should not coming house. Might their reminiscences be a blessing,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned, referring to a phrase utilized by Jews to mourn the lifeless.
Goldberg-Polin’s dad and momhave, together with the households of different hostages, tirelessly referred to as on Netanyahu and the Israeli authorities, in addition to the worldwide group, to concentrate on the scenario of their family members.
After Hamas’s navy wing printed a video in April displaying Goldberg-Polin captured, his mom mentioned, Rachel Goldberg-Polin mentioned She believed that Netanyahu’s authorities needed to make compromises to finish the struggling in each Israel and Gaza.
In July, Goldberg-Polin’s dad and mom arrived joined the households of different American hostages throughout Netanyahu’s go to to Washington DC to share their message once more: Convey the hostages house now.
Throughout final week’s Democratic Nationwide Conferencehis dad and mom once more begged for his return.
“We have been residing on a unique planet ever since,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin mentioned of her son’s abduction. “Anybody who’s a father or mother or has had a father or mother can think about the worry and the anguish that Jon and I and all of the hostage households have endured.”
In a assertion about XThe Hostage and Lacking Households Discussion board pointed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who they mentioned “deserted the abductees! That is now a reality.”
“From tomorrow the nation will tremble. We name on the general public to organize. We block the nation,” the assertion mentioned. The Discussion board mentioned it could share extra particulars on Sunday morning.
Netanyahu is beneath rising stress in Israel and the remainder of the world to armistice settlement with Hamas, which might deliver concerning the launch of the hostages and an finish to the combating in Gaza.
Throughout the Hamas terrorist assault on October 7, greater than 1,200 individuals had been killed and about 250 others had been taken hostage in Israel.
The devastation and humanitarian disaster within the Gaza Strip, the place well being officers say greater than 40,000 individuals have been killed in Israel’s navy offensive, have drawn worldwide condemnation and remoted Netanyahu on the worldwide stage.
There are nonetheless about 100 hostages held by Hamas.
Within the 10 months because the assault, some hostages have been launched by way of diplomatic agreements, some have been rescued throughout IDF operations, and a few have been killed or died in captivity. The plight of the hostages has roiled Israeli society, sparking protests and anger that Netanyahu has not reached a ceasefire settlement that may deliver them house.
It is a creating story. Test again for updates.
Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin is one among six hostages discovered lifeless in Gaza
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