JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Sunday it has recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including a young Israeli-American man who became one of the highest-profile prisoners held by Hamas when his parents met world leaders and pressed for his release , including at the Democratic convention last month.
The army said all six were killed shortly before they were due to be rescued by Israeli forces. Their recovery sparked calls for mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom many hostages’ families and much of the broader Israeli public blame for failing to bring them back alive in a deal with Hamas to end the situation. the ten-month war. Negotiations on such a deal have taken place has dragged on for months.
In a separate development, gunmen shot dead two people and wounded a third when they opened fire on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank, where Israel carried out terrorist acts. large-scale military attacks the past few days. Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom confirmed the casualties.
Militants captured Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and four of the other hostages at a music festival in southern Israel during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war.
The Berkeley, California, resident lost part of his left arm to a grenade during the attack. In April, a video released by Hamas showed him missing his left hand and speaking clearly under duress, sparking new protests in Israel calling on the government to do more to secure his freedom and that of others.
The military identified the other hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33; who were they too? taken from the music festival. The sixth, Carmel Gat, 40, was kidnapped from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.
It said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, about a kilometer away from where another hostage, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued alive last week.
“According to preliminary information, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s military spokesman, told reporters.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
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Netanyahu has taken a hard line during the negotiations, repeatedly saying military pressure is needed to bring the hostages home. According to Israeli media, he has had a falling out with top security officials who have said an agreement must be reached urgently. Hamas has offered to release the hostages in exchange for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel’s largely ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, said: “The heart of an entire nation has been broken into pieces.” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “On behalf of the State of Israel, I hold their families close to my heart and ask for forgiveness.” There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu.
A forum of hostage families called for a mass protest on Sunday, demanding a “complete shutdown of the country” to push for the implementation of a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
“A deal on the return of the hostages has been on the table for more than two months. Were it not for the delays, the sabotage and the excuses, those whose deaths we learned this morning would probably still be alive. It is time to bring our hostages home,” the statement said.
President Joe Biden, who met with the parents, said he was “devastated and outraged.”
“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible,” he said. “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will continue to work around the clock to reach a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
The Goldberg-Polin family issued a statement early Sunday, hours after the Israeli military said it had located bodies in Gaza.
“Heartbroken, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the deaths of their beloved son and brother Hersh,” the report said. “The family thanks you all for your love and support and requests privacy at this time.”
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, U.S.-born immigrants in Israel, became perhaps the most high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage. They met with Biden, Pope Francis and others and addressed the United Nations, urging the release of all hostages.
On August 21, his parents addressed a silent room in the Democratic National Convention – after sustained applause and chants of “bring him home.”
“This is a political convention. But needing our only son home – and all the cherished hostages – is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” said his father, Jon Polin. His mother, Rachelwho bowed her head and touched her chest during the ovation, said, “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong, survive.”
She and her husband tried to prevent their son and the others from being reduced to numbers, describing Hersh as a music and football lover and traveler with plans to attend college since his military service ended. At events, she often addressed her son directly, hoping he could hear her, and urged him to live another day.
On October 7, about 250 hostages were taken. Before the military announced the latest discovery of bodies, Israel said it believed 108 hostages were still being held in Gaza and that about a third of them were dead. In late August, the Israeli army recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza.
Eight hostages have been rescued by Israeli forces most recent found on Tuesday. During a week-long ceasefire in November, more than a hundred people were released in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Dozens of Palestinians were killed in two previous Israeli operations to free hostages. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops accidentally killed three Israelis who escaped from captivity in December.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they stormed into southern Israel on October 7, attacking army bases and several farming communities.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. They do not say how many of these were combatants or civilians. It has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, often multiple times, and flooded the besieged area. to a humanitarian catastrophe.
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