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As part of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Template:Lang-he) was wounded and abducted by Hamas during the Re'im music festival massacre. He was held hostage for almost 11 months, until his body was recovered from Rafah in the Gaza Strip on 31 August 2024. His autopsy showed that he was likely shot from "close range" 1–2 days earlier.

Biography

Goldberg-Polin was the son of Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, both originally from the Chicago area. He was born in Berkeley, California, and then lived in Richmond, Virginia, before immigrating to Israel with his family in 2008 at the age of 7. Goldberg-Polin has two younger sisters.

Goldberg-Polin was reportedly working with an initiative that was using soccer to bring Israeli and Palestinian children together. He had reportedly planned a two-year world travel trip that was to start during the last week of December 2023, before the 7 October attacks. Goldberg-Polin served in the Israel Defense Forces and completed his mandatory service in April 2023.

Abduction

Goldberg-Polin was at the Re'im music festival when Hamas attacked the morning of 7 October. At around 8:00am, he sent his family a text message, "I love you". Ten minutes later he added, "I'm sorry." During the attack, Goldberg-Polin, his best friend Aner Shapira, and others took refuge in a field shelter. Hamas militants repeatedly threw grenades into the shelter.

Shapira managed to throw seven of the grenades back out, before being killed. During the attack on the shelter, Goldberg-Polin's arm was blown off from the elbow down. He reportedly managed to fashion himself a tourniquet for his injury. Surviving witnesses from the shelter confirmed they had seen militants abducting a wounded Goldberg-Polin and others on a truck. His family members report to have seen a video of Goldberg-Polin's actions leading up to him being taken hostage. The video reportedly ends with Goldberg-Polin seen getting into the back of a pickup truck; the traumatic amputation of his left arm, with exposed bone, can be seen as he turns to sit down. On 31 August 2024, his family confirmed his body was discovered by IDF.

Media coverage and efforts to release

Goldberg-Polin's family and friends launched a media and diplomatic campaign to secure his release. In late December 2023 it was reported that Goldberg-Polin's parents spoke to and petitioned a slew of politicians and others in regards to their son. They spoke to United Nations (UN) in New York and Geneva, Pope Francis, Elon Musk, President Joe Biden, US Secretary Antony Blinken, 25 US senators, seven governors and multiple different celebrities and influencers. His mother took to wearing a shirt with a number taped on it each day, to track the days that he had been kept as a hostage.

On 24 October at the UN, Goldberg-Polin's mother, Rachel Goldberg, delivered an emotional speech imploring for the release of her son and the other hostages from Hamas: "Why is no one crying out for these people to be allowed access to the Red Cross? Why is no one demanding just proof of life? This is a global humanitarian catastrophe." Rachel also addressed the 14 November March for Israel in Washington, D.C., leading the crowd in a chant of "Bring them home now!" She asked, "Why is the world accepting that 240 human beings from almost 30 countries have been stolen and buried alive?"

Goldberg-Polin was not released during the temporary cease-fire in late November 2023, which saw the exchange of 105 hostages taken by Hamas for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners. Family members had met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel war cabinet along with other hostages family members to petition to resume negotiations for a new cease-fire. On 27 December, when Goldberg-Polin was reportedly scheduled to start his world travel trip, his father and about 50 others gathered at the Ben Gurion Airport to bring attention to his continued captivity.

On 24 April 2024, Hamas released a nearly 3-minute-long video of Goldberg-Polin while in captivity. In it, he identifies himself, and says the Israeli government should be "ashamed" for "carrying their mission in Gaza" as the Israeli captives are stuck in an "underground hell with no food or water". Goldberg-Polin was filmed with an apparent healed amputation of his left arm, highlighting the injury he suffered during the Re'im music festival massacre. The video was not dated, but based on Goldberg-Polin stating he had been held captive for nearly 200 days, experts believe that the video was filmed recently to its airing. Following the video release his parents issued their statement, expressing joy at seeing and hearing him speak, but also imploring all the leaders working for a hostage deal to help bring him home. Experts say that filming such videos could be a war crime.

Recovery of body

On 31 August 2024, Hersh's body was one of six bodies recovered from a Hamas tunnel in Rafah, Gaza. According to the Israeli health ministry, all six were were executed by their Hamas captors from "close range" 2–3 days earlier. The IDF said that the captors were not present when its soldiers recovered the bodies. Hamas denied executing Goldberg-Polin, as well as the five other hostages, claiming they died in an Israeli airstrike.

Joe Biden, President of the United States, issued a statement in which he said:

Earlier today, in a tunnel under the city of Rafah, Israeli forces recovered six bodies of hostages held by Hamas. We have now confirmed that one of the hostages killed by these vicious Hamas terrorists was an American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. I am devastated and outraged. Hersh was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on October 7. He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’ savage massacre.  He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world. I have gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. They have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable...  I know all Americans tonight will have them in their prayers, just as Jill and I will.  I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them and am heartbroken by the news of his death. It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

See also

• 2023 Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
• Kidnapping of Noa Argamani, another hostage taken from the music festival
• Killing of Shani Louk, who was also present at the music festival
• List of kidnappings
• Death Shelters

References

1. "Family confirms death of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin". AP News. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
2. House, The White (1 September 2024). "Statement from President Biden on Hersh Goldberg-Polin". The White House. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
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30. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/world/middleeast/israel-hostage-video-gaza-war.html
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