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AN Israel-American hostage, who was one of hundreds of young concert-goers caught in the crossfires of the October 7 bloodbath by Hamas terrorists, is being mourned as a fun-loving friend, son, and brother.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was one of six other hostages whose bodies were found in a Hamas-run tunnel under the city of Rafah in Gaza on Saturday.
Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks, was found dead on Saturday[/caption]
Goldberg-Polin was one of hundreds of young people who attended the Nova music festival in Southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when they were forced to seek shelter after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack.
The rocket barrage left more than 1,200 people dead, according to Israeli officials.
Hamas also took about 250 Israeli civilians hostage, officials in Israel said.
Among the hostages included Goldberg-Polin and the five others, including Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino, whose bodies were finally recovered on Saturday.
The six were brought back to Israel by the military.
RESILIENCY
Goldberg-Polin’s bravery and agonizing ordeal were documented after it was revealed that the Israel-American, who was born in the Bay Area, survived the October 7 attack.
“In Yiddish, you say ‘mensch,’ meaning a person with integrity,” Andy Feig, a rabbi in Los Angeles who grew up with Goldberg-Polin’s father and family in California, told The New York Times.
Feig told the outlet Goldberg-Polin “exuded the best traits” of his parents, “caring, fun-loving, and kind.”
After surviving the first blitz on that fateful October 7 bombing, Goldberg-Polin and dozens of others sought shelter inside a bunker when Hamas terrorists began launching grenades.
Goldberg-Polin rushed to throw them out, but his arm was blown off from the elbow down, according to CNN.
When the gunfire settled, Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage by Hamas gunmen, marking the last time witnesses saw him.
In April, six months after his capture, a Hamas-issued video showed Goldberg-Polin, his left hand missing and clearly speaking under duress, sparking new protests in Israel urging the government to do more to secure his and others’ freedom.
Who are Hamas?
HAMAS is an Islamist militant group founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian Intifada or uprising against Israel.
The terror organization is a Palestinian militant movement that also serves as one of the territories’ two major political parties.
Over the years, Hamas has carried out shooting, bombing, and rocket attacks in Israel, and the two region’s armies have fought in Gaza in multiple cross-border since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007.
But, the group drew worldwide attention when they committed a set of horror attacks on October 7, 2023.
They launched surprise land, air, and sea attacks on Israel, killing hundreds of Israelis and leaving thousands more injured.
Since then, the brutal warfare has continued, and thousands have died on both sides of the fighting.
Hamas as a whole, or in some cases its military wing, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the US, the EU, and the UK, as well as other powers.
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel and Jon, met with world leaders, including the Pope, and spoke at the Democratic National Convention, advocating for his release.
“This is a political convention. But needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Goldberg-Polin’s father, Jon, said on August 21 at the DNC.
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.”
“There’s a saying in Hebrew: Who saves one life, it’s as if they saved the entire world,” Orly Lewis, a chief executive of the Weinstein Jewish Community Center in Richmond, Virginia, a preschool Goldberg-Polin attended, told the New York Times.
“I think the whole world was watching how much they tried to bring Hersh home and the rest of the hostages.”
DEVASTATED AND OUTRAGED
However, more than four months after the last sign of hope that Goldberg-Polin would somehow, eventually, make it back home, his body was tragically found.
“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh,” Goldberg-Polin’s devastated family said in a statement.
“The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
The Israeli military said his body, along with the other five hostages, were found “brutally murdered.”
Israeli officials said the hostages were killed “a short while” before troops were able to reach them.
President Joe Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” by the news of the hostages and is expected to meet in the White House Situation Room with the US hostage deal negotiating team, according to the Daily Mail.
“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes,” Biden said.
“And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
