Jon Polin, left, and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, are pictured speaking on a screen at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
hide caption
convert caption
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
JERUSALEM — Israel said Sunday it had found the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including a young Israeli-American who was one of the most prominent prisoners held by Hamas as his parents met with world leaders and pressed for his release, including at the Democratic convention last month.
The military said all six were killed shortly before they were rescued by Israeli forces. Their release sparked calls for mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom many of the hostages’ families and much of the Israeli public blame for failing to bring them back as part of a deal with Hamas to end the 10-month war. Negotiations on such a deal have dragged on for months.
In a separate incident, gunmen killed three people when they opened fire on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank, where Israel has carried out large-scale military raids in recent days. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue agency confirmed the casualties.
Terrorists took Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and four other hostages at a music festival in southern Israel in a Hamas attack on October 7 that sparked the war.
The Berkeley, California native lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, a video released by Hamas showing him with his left arm missing and apparently being forced to do so sparked new protests in Israel calling on the government to do more to secure his and others’ freedom.
The military identified the other hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33; who were also kidnapped from the music festival. The sixth person, Carmel Gat, 40, was kidnapped from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.
Reports said the bodies were found in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, about a kilometer (0.6 miles) from where another hostage, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued alive last week.
“According to initial information, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists before we could reach them,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas. The militant group has offered to release the hostages in exchange for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including senior militants.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the fight until Hamas is defeated and said military pressure is needed to bring the hostages home. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that he had a verbal spat last week with his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who accused him of prioritizing control of a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border — a major sticking point in the negotiations — over the lives of the hostages.
Israel’s largely ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, said: “The heart of an entire nation is broken into pieces.” Gallant said: “In the name of the state of Israel, I hug their families and ask for forgiveness.” Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A forum of hostage families has called for a major protest on Sunday, demanding a “complete halt to the country” to push for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages.
“A deal to release the hostages has been in the works for over two months. Without the delays, sabotage and excuses, those whose deaths we learned about this morning would still be alive. It is time to bring our hostages home,” the statement said.
President Joe Biden, who met with the parents, said he was “deeply saddened and outraged.”
“It is tragic and reprehensible,” he said. “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will continue to work around the clock to reach an agreement that secures the release of the remaining hostages.”
Vice President Kamala Harris also issued a statement, saying she was praying for the Goldberg-Polin family and condemning Hamas.
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, U.S.-born immigrants to Israel, have become perhaps the most prominent relatives of the hostages on the international stage. They have met with Biden, Pope Francis and others and spoken at the United Nations, calling for the release of all the hostages.
On August 21, his parents spoke to a hushed audience at the Democratic National Convention — to standing ovations and chants of “bring him home.”
“This is a political conference. But getting our only son — and all the beloved hostages — home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” said the boy’s father, Jon Polin. The boy’s mother, Rachel, who bowed her head amid cheers and touched her chest, said, “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, be strong, survive.”
She and her husband tried to keep their son and others from being reduced in number, describing Hersh as a lover of music and soccer and a traveler with plans to attend college after his military service ended. At events, she often spoke directly to her son in the hope that he could hear her, urging him to live another day.
About 250 hostages were taken on October 7. Before the military announced the latest discovery of the bodies, Israel said it believed 108 hostages were still being held in Gaza and that about a third of them were dead. In late August, the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza.
Eight hostages have been rescued by Israeli forces, most recently on Tuesday. More than 100 were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians held by Israel.
Two previous Israeli hostage rescue operations have killed dozens of Palestinians. Hamas said some hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli forces accidentally killed three Israelis who escaped from captivity in December.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they attacked southern Israel on October 7, attacking army bases and several farming communities.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, but it is not clear how many were militants or civilians. The offensive has displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and plunged the besieged territory into a humanitarian disaster.
