US President Joe Biden said late on Saturday that Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including that of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Goldberg-Polin, who was captured at a music festival in southern Israel on October 7, had appeared in a video released by Hamas in late April.
“He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world,” Biden was quoted by Reuters as saying. Biden, who met Goldberg-Polin’s parents, said Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin “have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable”.
“They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions. I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express,” the US president said.
Meanwhile, the family of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin announced the young man’s death early Sunday, ABC news reported. It added the family issued its 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,” the statement reportedly read. “The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
The report said Goldberg-Polin, the native of Berkeley, California, had lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, a video released by Hamas showed his left hand missing, and clearly speaking under duress.
The Israeli military said in a statement early on Sunday that the bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino had been brought to Israel.
At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 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.
