25-4-2024 (GAZA) In a chilling development that has sent shockwaves through the region, the Palestinian militant group Hamas has released a video depicting an Israeli-American man held hostage in Gaza. The footage, which has yet to be independently verified, shows the captive, identified as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, alive but visibly distressed, as he recounts the harrowing ordeal of being held “in hell.”
Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages abducted from the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7th, is seen missing a hand – a grim reminder of the injuries he sustained during his capture. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group has confirmed that Goldberg-Polin’s family had “given permission for the video of their son Hersh” to be broadcast by the media.
In the harrowing footage, Goldberg-Polin’s words paint a vivid picture of the inhumane conditions he and his fellow captives are enduring. “I went to hang out with my friends, and instead, I found myself fighting for my life with severe injuries all over my body,” he says, his voice laced with anguish.
While the exact date and location of the video’s recording remain uncertain, Goldberg-Polin makes a chilling reference to being held hostage “for almost 200 days” – a timeframe that aligns with the 200-day mark of the Israel-Hamas war, which was reached on April 23rd.
The Goldberg-Polin family has given permission for the video of their son Hersh, who has been held captive by Hamas for 201 days, to be published and used after it was released by the terror organization Hamas today.
For more than 200 days, 133 hostages have been held captive by… pic.twitter.com/1pD4RcxEe0
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) April 24, 2024
Posted on Hamas’ official Telegram account, the footage shows Goldberg-Polin, likely speaking under duress, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the crisis and the military’s failed attempts to bring the hostages home.
In an apparent reference to the Jewish Passover, which began this week, Goldberg-Polin makes a heart-wrenching appeal to government members, urging them to “think of us, the hostages, who are still here in hell” while they “sit and have holiday meals with your families,” and to “bring us home now.”
The conditions described by Goldberg-Polin are nothing short of inhumane, with the captives living “under the ground without water, without food, without sun, without the medical care that I need so much for a long, long time.”
Goldberg-Polin’s mother, Rachel Goldberg, has been at the forefront of the campaign for his return, even meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2023, where she appealed for help. In the video, her son acknowledges her efforts, saying, “I know you are doing everything for me to return home as soon as possible.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has also issued an urgent appeal, warning that “Hersh’s cry is the collective cry of all the hostages – their time is rapidly running out.” The group’s statement underscores the gravity of the situation, noting that “with each passing day, the fear of losing more innocent lives grows stronger.”
According to Israeli estimates, 129 of the roughly 250 people abducted during the Hamas attack on October 7th remain in Gaza, including 34 who the military says are dead. The attack itself resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, and triggered the deadliest war between Hamas and Israel, with Netanyahu vowing to eliminate the militant group that rules Gaza.
In Israel’s blistering military offensive in Gaza, a staggering 34,262 people have been killed, most of them women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.
