Israel said early Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages captured during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that ignited the Gaza war, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose parents had led a high-profile campaign for the captives’ release.
The military said the six were killed shortly before Israeli forces were to rescue them and that the bodies were found in a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The news sparked calls for mass protests by families of the hostages who said they could have been returned alive in a cease-fire deal.
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Goldberg-Polin and four other hostages were taken from a music festival where Palestinian militants killed scores of people. The sixth was captured from a nearby farming community.
The six victims have been identified as 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 25-year-old Ori Danino, 24-year-old Eden Yerushalmi, 27-year-old Almog Sarusi, 33-year-old Alexander Lobanov and 40-year-old Carmel Gat.
President Joe Biden released a statement in response to the tragedy, saying that he was devasted and outraged.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin is set to be laid to rest in Jerusalem.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff on Tuesday in remembrance of him and has issued the following statement regarding the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin:
After 330 agonizing days since the brutal terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th that left more than 1,200 dead and hundreds more held hostage, Johnathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg woke up to unimaginable news that no parent should ever receive. Suzanne and I are angered and heartbroken by the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a senseless murder at the hands of terrorists. Today, Virginians, Americans, and the world join the Goldberg-Polin family and the Keneseth Beth Israel Synagogue in prayer
Gov. Glenn Youngkin
Sen. Mark Warner released a statement, too:
I am heartbroken for the Goldberg-Polin family, whose son and brother Hersh was brutally murdered by Hamas along with five other hostages abducted on October 7, 2023. Over the past 330 days, Rachel and Jon have demonstrated extraordinary strength and grace in the face of overwhelming personal devastation, drawing upon their love for Hersh to share his light and selfless spirit with the world and to advocate for his return. Hersh’s abduction while peacefully enjoying a music festival and subsequent murder is further evidence of Hamas’ violence and depravity, which have caused pain and suffering across the region for far too long.
Today my prayers are with the entire Goldberg-Polin family as they mourn. May Hersh’s memory be a blessing
Sen. Mark Warner