Officials confirmed on Sunday that the IDF conducted an operation in Gaza on Saturday in which it recovered the bodies of six hostages, of three men and three women, taken by Palestinian Hamas in the course of its horrific massacre of Israelis on October 7. The bodies were recovered from tunnels. The IDF emphasized that no operations had been carried out in the vicinity of the tunnels from which the bodies were recovered so the hostages were not killed during recent military operations.
“A few hours ago, we informed the families that the bodies of their loved ones had been located by Israel Defense Forces troops in a tunnel in Rafah. According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” said IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
Identification took several hours, but the identities of the murdered hostages are believed to be Hersh Goldberg-Polin (aged 23), Eden Yerushalmi (24), Carmel Gat (40), Almog Sarusi (25), Alex Lobanov (32), and Ori Danino (25). Carmel Gat was abducted from the Kibbutz Be’eri while the other five were taken hostage at the Nova Music Festival. Danino and Goldberg-Polin had evaded the Hamas terrorists in the initial assault but returned to rescue their friends.
Yerushalmi managed to call her mother and sister when Hamas stormed the festival and remained on the line for four hours while she evaded the Palestinian terrorists. Her final words to her sisters were, “Shani, they caught me, they caught me. Find me. Okay?”
The bodies were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, around a kilometer from where another hostage, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued alive last week. The military said all six had been killed shortly before they were to be rescued by Israeli forces.
Approximately 250 hostages were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. Before the discovery of these bodies, Israel said it believed 108 hostages were still held in Gaza, and about one-third of them were dead. Israeli forces have rescued eight hostages, and more than 100 were freed during a weeklong cease-fire in November. The fate of the hostages remaining in Gaza is unknown as international and humanitarian organizations, like the United Nations and the International Red Cross, have not contacted them. The UN has not classified Hamas as a terrorist organization, nor has it condemned Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack. A recent exhibit at the UN headquarters in New York City commemorating the victims of terrorism did not list any Israelis and omitted Oct.7.
Goldberg Polin, a native of Berkley, California, was taken hostage at the Nova music festival, losing his hand in a grenade blast. He was seen in a video being taken into Gaza while still alive and appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in April.
His family released a statement:
“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time,” the family says in a post on Facebook.
Goldberg Polin’s parents addressed Pope Francis, the UN, and, most recently, the Democratic National Convention.
Gil Hoffman, the executive director of Honest Reporting, added a personal note to the report, posting it on Facebook, “It’s horrible to wake up to this and more awful news. I had the privilege of knowing Hersh, who sat in back of me at synagogue for years, and his amazing family, who worked so hard to bring him home alive. My condolences to his grandmother Leah Goldstein Polin, his parents, his uncle and his sisters, who all deserved much better news.
The White House released a statement in the name of President Joe Biden, claiming that he has “worked tirelessly” for Hersh’s release. He warned that “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes”.
Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement condemning Hamas, saying that “Hamas cannot control Gaza.”
Both the President and the VP called for a ceasefire without demanding the remaining hostages be released.
