John Jefferson
The family of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin said he has been killed in the Gaza Strip.
The family issued a statement early Sunday, hours after the Israeli army said it had located bodies in Gaza.
“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh,” it said. “The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
There was no immediate comment from the army, or details about the other bodies found.
The 23-year-old Goldberg-Polin was among the hostages seized by militants at a music festival in southern Israel on 7 October.
A video, published on Hamas’s Telegram channel, showed Goldberg-Polin wearing a red shirt and with his left hand missing. The 23-year-old was attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked and was injured by a grenade.
The Hamas-issued video in April showing Goldberg-Polin clearly speaking under duress sparked new protests in Israel urging the government to do more to secure his and others’ freedom.
Witnesses said Goldberg-Polin lost part of an arm when the attackers tossed grenades into a temporary shelter where people had taken refuge, but he tied a tourniquet around it and walked out of the shelter before being bundled into the truck.
Goldberg-Polin’s parents became perhaps the most high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage. They met with president Joe Biden, Pope Francis and others and addressed the United Nations. On 21 August they addressed a hushed hall at the Democratic National Convention, where the crowd chanted: “Bring them home.”
Family and friends organized the “Bring Hersh Home” campaign on social media, hoping that he will still be able to take a planned backpack trip through southern Asia.
The announcement is certain to put pressure on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring home reing hostages. The Israeli leader has said military pressure is needed to win their release as cease-fire efforts falter.
Before Israel’s announcement, Israel said it believed 108 hostages were still held in Gaza and about one-third of them were dead.
Israel said it discovered a number of bodies in Gaza during combat, and that its military was carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies, which will take several hours.
It asked that the public refrain from spreading rumors as to the identities of the bodies.
Mr Biden said his staff was in contact with the Israelis and confirmed that they have discovered bodies in Gaza. He was unsure of the exact number of bodies. Mr Biden added he was not at liberty to identify the bodies at this time.
At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip since 7 Oct, the enclave’s health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The war was triggered when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
On Saturday, clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin. Hundreds of Israeli troops have been carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West Bank in months.
Mr Biden, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, said he was “still optimistic” about a ceasefire deal to stop the conflict.
“I think we’re on the verge of having an agreement,” he said. “It’s time this war ended.”
Mr Biden added that “people are continuing to meet”.
Additional reporting by agencies
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