Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin is one of six hostages found dead in Gaza, Biden says

President Biden announced Saturday night that the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas have been recovered by Israeli forces from a tunnel under the Gaza city of Rafah, including that of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

“I am devastated and outraged,” Biden said. “Hersh was one of the innocent people brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on October 7. He lost his arm while helping friends and strangers during Hamas’s barbaric massacre.”

The Israel Defense Forces in a statement identified the other recovered hostages as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt. Ori Danino. The army said all six were killed shortly before the Israeli troops arrived.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would hold Hamas accountable for killing the hostages “in cold blood.” He also blamed the militant group for stalled negotiations, saying that “whoever kills hostages doesn’t want a deal.”

Goldberg-Polin’s family released a statement Sunday morning, hours after the Israeli military reported finding bodies in Gaza.

“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated by the passing of their beloved son and brother, Hersh,” the statement said. “The family thanks all of you for your love and support and requests your privacy at this time.”

Goldberg-Polin was one of the most high-profile hostages, as his parents had met with world leaders and tirelessly appealed for their help. Earlier this month, they spoke at the Democratic National Convention, where the crowd chanted “bring them home.”

In April, Hamas released a video of an injured man missing his left hand, who identified himself as Goldberg-Polin, and gave a lengthy statement that was clearly written by Hamas. The Berkeley, California, resident lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the Oct. 7 attack.

“We feel extreme despair, desperation,” said Rachel Goldberg-Polin, his mother, told “Face the Nation” early April. “And we’ve had tremendous access and sympathy, and open doors and lots of hugs from everyone in the U.S. government. But this is a very binary situation.”

Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova music festival he was attending when the militant group carried out his October 7 terrorist attack.

A graphic video released in June showed Goldberg-Polin and two other hostages being kidnapped by Palestinian militants.

Families of hostages demand their return

Israel’s announcement will undoubtedly lead to urgent new calls for Netanyahu to strike a deal to bring home the remaining hostages. The Israeli leader has taken a hard line in negotiations, repeatedly saying that military pressure is needed to bring the hostages home. Israeli media reported that he has clashed with top security officials who have said that a deal must be struck urgently.

Three of the hostages — Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi and Gat — were to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire proposal discussed in July, an Israeli official confirmed to The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak to the media about the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Hamas 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 leading militants.

Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the hostages would still be alive if Israel had accepted a US-backed ceasefire proposal, which Hamas had already agreed to in July.

“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible,” Biden, who met with Goldberg-Polin’s parents, said in his statement. “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will continue to work day and night to secure a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”

Asked about the case earlier on Saturday, Mr. Biden said bodies were still being identified and families were being notified. But he called for an end to the war and said ceasefire efforts were progressing.

“I think we’re about to make a deal,” he said as he left the church in Delaware. “It’s just time to stop. It’s time to finish it.”

A forum of hostage families called for a large-scale protest on Sunday, demanding a “complete shutdown of the country” to bring about a ceasefire and release of the hostages.

“A deal for the return of the hostages has been on the table for over two months. If it weren’t for the delays, sabotage and excuses, those we heard died this morning would likely still be alive,” the statement said.

Striking campaign for their son

Goldberg-Polin’s parents, U.S.-born immigrants to Israel, became perhaps the most prominent hostage family members on the international stage, meeting with Mr. Biden, Pope Francis and others and addressing the United Nations, urging the release of all the hostages.

“This is a political convention. But needing our only son — and all the cherished hostages — home is not a political issue. It’s a humanitarian issue,” Jon Polin told the DNC on Aug. 21. His mother, Rachel, bowing her head during the ovation and touching her chest, said, “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive.”

Both wore stickers with the number 320, which represented the number of days their son had been held. It had long become part of a morning ritual: tearing off a new piece of tape, writing down a new day.

She asked other people around the world to adopt the ritual, not only for her son, who moved to Israel with his family when he was 7, but also for the other hostages and their families.

She and her husband tried to avoid reducing their son and the others held to numbers, describing Hersh as a music and soccer lover and a traveler with plans to attend college now that his military service was over. At events, she often addressed her son directly, hoping he could hear her, and urged him to live another day.

About 250 hostages were taken on October 7. Before the army announced the latest find of bodies, Israel said it believed 108 hostages were still being held in Gaza and that about a third of them were dead. Earlier this month, the Israeli military said the bodies of six hostages recovered in southern Gaza.

Eight hostages have been rescued by Israeli forces, the most recent find on tuesdayMost of the rest were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians jailed by Israel.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in two previous Israeli operations to rescue hostages. Hamas says several hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli forces accidentally killed three Israelis who had escaped captivity in December.