Family in tears as first proof of hostage alive released by Hamas in seven months
Rachel Goldberg-Polin ran home when her husband, John, called last week. He had just been told by the FBI and Israeli intelligence that Hamas was about to publish a video of their son Hersh, from captivity in Gaza.
It was the first proof he was alive since he was taken hostage at the Nova music festival on 7 October.
She said: “I’m running home so that we could be together. I was quickly calling the grandparents, my daughters and our team, the people who surround us every day and help us to warn them, because we didn’t know what was going to be in the video. So we were scared.
“We watched it together with everybody else and truthfully, the first time we saw it, we were just crying and not really listening, just hearing his voice, not listening to the content.”
In the video, Hersh is sat against a plain white wall, wearing a red and blue t-shirt.
The handsome 24-year-old, whose smiling photo is on most street corners in West Jerusalem alongside the phrase “Free Hersh” is now pale, with bags under his eyes and cropped hair.
Hersh was taken captive at the Nova music festival
His left hand is missing, blown off by a grenade as Hamas stormed into Israel that October morning. The toll of seven months as a Hamas hostage is obvious.
“There wasn’t anger. It was relief, and heartbreak that he looked obviously medically compromised and fragile, seeing his arm for the first time since seeing his arm blown off from the original abduction video was something.
“As a parent, you would never want to see that.”
‘There wasn’t anger. It was relief, and heartbreak,’ Rachel said
Rachel has only watched the full video properly three times but has viewed it on mute to see her son moving and listened to the audio close to her ear just so that she could hear his voice.
“I’ll take it as a mother when he says that the most important thing is family and he talks to us saying: ‘I love you and I hope you know that. I’ll see you soon’. And again, that was probably all scripted, but I’ll take it.
“When you’re starving and someone gives you a dry piece of bread, you’ll take it, and I was glad to take it.”
Rachel’s father, Hersh’s grandfather, broke down in floods of tears when he heard about the video. He had been privately convinced his grandson was dead but had stayed strong for his daughter’s sake.
A potential ceasefire?
Negotiations for a new ceasefire are ongoing.
Hamas is studying a new proposal from Israel that reportedly demands the release of 20 hostages in an initial phase in return for a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces and the freedom for Gazans in the south to return home to the north.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday described it as a “generous” offer and Hamas is expected to deliver its answer in the coming days.
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‘We can’t have so many people killed’
Get the latest updates on the Israel-Hamas war
For the families of the 133 hostages still in Gaza, it has been traumatic to have hopes raised so many times, only for a possible deal to fall apart.
‘Don’t count your hostages until they’re home’
For seven months Rachel has not worn make-up or jewellery, listened to music or watched the news.
The only accessory on her clothing is a ripped piece of tape with the number 207 written on: the number of days her son has been hostage.
It’s been more than 200 days since Rachel’s son was taken hostage
With her husband, she has travelled to Washington and Davos to address world leaders and campaigned to keep the story of every hostage alive.
Like every hostage family member I have met over the past seven months, their focus is not just on bringing their loved one home, but every single hostage home.
“You know honestly, we’ve learned the expression ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch’ and so we say, ‘don’t count your hostages until they’re home’.
“I just think we have to protect ourselves emotionally and psychologically, so we’re certainly optimistic and hopeful and always praying for a positive outcome, but I’m very cautious.
“I think all of the families are very careful not to be counting on something before we really have a reason to count on it.”
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‘Not just’ about the hostages
Rachel’s message to leaders, as the negotiations again enter a difficult and crucial phase, is to compromise for the sake of everyone, Israelis, Palestinians and other nationalities caught up:
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Hostage’s parents plead for his release
“It’s not just about the 133 hostages who represent 25 different countries who are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist, and who range in age from 15 months old to 85, 86 years old. This is not just about the 133 hostages.
“This is about hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who are suffering in this region, in Gaza.
“And there can be an end to it. I think that it will require tremendous courage and compromise. Compromise is always difficult. Prices are always steep. It’s always painful. That’s the point of compromise, is that you’re willing to give up on something you hold dear for something that’s even more precious, but you pay for it.
“And I would say to the people who are in those rooms to make the bold choice to do the thing that will give your people relief, your own people relief.”
World
Zelenskyy to make first official visit to Ireland – as ‘productive’ Ukraine-US talks under way in Florida
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to make his first official visit to Ireland tomorrow, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has revealed.
The Ukrainian president will be accompanied by First Lady Olena Zelenska and meet Mr Martin, president Catherine Connolly and foreign minister Helen McEntee.
Mr Martin said he and Mr Zelenskyy would be holding a bilateral meeting, as well as attending the inauguration of the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum, which he said “offers an opportunity to explore the potential for strengthened business-to-business, trade and investment links between Ireland and Ukraine”.
Micheal Martin greets Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he briefly stops in Ireland on way to the US in February. Pic: Reuters
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Taoiseach said: “It is an honour to welcome President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to Ireland.
“Around the world, he is rightly recognised as someone who embodies the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, who have inspired the world in their brave defence of their country and its sovereignty since it was brutally and illegally invaded by Russia.
“I have met with President Zelenskyy many times, including in Kyiv, but I particularly look forward to greeting him on this first official visit of a Ukrainian president to Ireland.”
Ireland has been a staunch ally of Ukraine’s since Russia began its invasion in 2022, offering some 120,000 Ukrainians a safe haven.
US-Ukraine talks begin in Florida
The Ireland announcement comes after Mr Zelenskyy’s top team engaged in peace talks with the US for several hours in Florida on Sunday.
The US-Ukraine talks were quickly organised after Donald Trump released a 28-point proposal that was largely seen to be favouring Russia, having been developed in earlier negotiations between Washington and Moscow.
The plan would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked Ukraine from joining NATO and required it to hold elections in 100 days. It also initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia.
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Sky’s US correspondent David Blevins analyses what’s at state this week
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It isn’t clear what changes have been made so far, but US secretary of state Marco Rubio has reassured Ukraine over the plans.
“This is not just about ending a war. This is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a way forward that will allow them to be independent and sovereign, never have another war again, and create tremendous prosperity for its people,” he said.
“Not just rebuild the country, but to enter an era of extraordinary economic progress.”
He added: “This is not just about peace deals. It’s about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous. We expect to make even more progress today.”
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, responded by saying the US was “hearing”, “supporting” and “working beside” Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy’s team in the US was without his former chief of staff and lead negotiator, Andrii Yermak, as he quit on Friday after officials raided his home amid a corruption scandal.
After the meeting, Mr Rubio said the talks had been “productive”, but more work remained to be done.
On X, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I am grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war. We will continue working. I look forward to receiving a full report from our team during a personal meeting.”
Later this week, Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow to continue talks with the Kremlin.
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‘Ukrainians have a delicate job’
Sustained Russian aerial assaults over the weekend
While peace talks ensued, Russian forces launched overnight attacks in and around Kyiv over the weekend, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens more.
Impacts were also reported in the regions of Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kherson.
Mr Zelenskyy said: “Such attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine’s resilience every day.”
The attacks also hit Ukrainian energy facilities and left hundreds of thousands without power in the capital. Supplies have since been restored.
Targeting such infrastructure has become a familiar tactic from Russia over the winter, in what Ukraine officials say is the “weaponising” of the cold.
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Moment Ukraine strikes Russian ‘shadow fleet’ ships
Ukraine launched its own drones at two of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” oil tankers in the Black Sea on Friday, and claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal on Saturday near the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The terminal is owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which includes Russian, Kazakh and US shareholders.
Subsequently, on Sunday, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said it viewed Ukraine’s attack as “an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine”, adding it expected Ukraine to “take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future”.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the country’s actions were not directed against Kazakhstan or third parties and were only aimed at repelling what it called “full-scale Russian aggression”.
World
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World
More than 600 dead in Indonesia and Thailand after floods and landslides – and Sri Lanka reporting more than 200 deaths from cyclone
The death toll following flooding and landslides in Indonesia and Thailand has risen to more than 600 – with nearby Sri Lanka also reporting more than 200 deaths after a cyclone.
Three people have also died in Malaysia, officials have said, due to the extreme weather in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
In total, Indonesian officials said 442 people had died and Thai authorities reported 170 deaths in the southern part of the country, as of midday UK time on Sunday.
People move a car damaged by floods in Songkhla province, Southern Thailand. Pic: AP
Rescuers search for flood victims in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Pic: AP
Rescue efforts were ongoing throughout the day, with more than four million people affected – almost three million in Southern Thailand and 1.1 million in Western Indonesia – by the effects of a tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait.
Indonesian relief and rescue teams have used helicopters to deliver aid to people they could not access because of blocked roads on the western island of Sumatra.
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a landslide in Adiankoting, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Pic: AP
Many areas have been cut off, while damage to telecommunications infrastructure has hampered communications.
Officials said on Saturday that they had received reports of people looting supply lines as they grow desperate for relief in other areas.
Hat Yai, the largest city in Thailand’s Songkhla province, received 335mm (13 inches) of rain on Friday last week, its highest single-day tally in 300 years.
After days of rain, meteorological authorities in Malaysia lifted tropical storm and continuous rain warnings there yesterday, forecasting clear skies for most of the country.
However, there are still about 18,700 people in evacuation centres, according to the country’s national disaster management agency.
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A road heavily damaged by a flash flood in Bireun, Aceh province, Indonesia. Pic: AP
A soldier uses ropes to cross a river during a search operation in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Pic: AP
More than 200 dead in Sri Lanka
Across the Bay of Bengal, Sri Lanka’s disaster management centre said in a situation report on Sunday that 212 people had died as a result of Cyclone Ditwah.
Another 218 people have been recorded as missing across the South Asian country’s 25 districts, and more than half a million people have been affected nationwide.
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