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.”
Read more:
Hamas releases video of hostages
Aid charity to resume operations following killing of aid workers
‘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
‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points – as medical charity warns acute malnutrition at all-time high
At least 798 people in Gaza have reportedly been killed while receiving aid in the past six weeks – while acute malnutrition is said to have reached an all-time high.
The UN human rights office said 615 of the deaths – between 27 May and 7 July – were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” said Ravina Shamdasani, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Its figures are based on a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries, and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), its partners on the ground, and Hamas-run health authorities.
Aid agency Project Hope said on Thursday that 10 children were among at least 15 people killed as they waited for its clinic in Deir al Balah to open.
Ten children were reportedly killed when Israel attacked near a clinic on Thursday. Pic: AP
The GHF has claimed the UN figures are “false and misleading” and has repeatedly denied any violence at or around its sites.
Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) – also known as Doctors Without Borders – said two of its sites were seeing their worst-ever levels of severe malnutrition.
Cases at its Gaza City clinic are said to have tripled from 293 in May to 983 in early July.
“Over 700 pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children are now receiving emergency nutritional care,” MSF said.
The humanitarian medical charity said food prices were at extreme levels, with sugar at $766 (£567) per kilo and flour $30 (£22) per kilo, and many families surviving on one meal of rice or lentils a day.
It’s a major concern for the estimated 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, who risk miscarriage, stillbirth and malnourished infants because of the shortages.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the coastal territory.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip.
The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what it says is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies from falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson said: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
At least 798 people in Gaza have been killed while receiving aid in six weeks, the UN human rights office has said.
A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said 615 of the killings were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
The office said its figures are based on numbers from a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as NGOs, its partners on the ground and the Hamas-run health authorities.
The GHF has claimed the figures are “false and misleading”. It has repeatedly denied there has been any violence at or around its sites.
The organisation began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the enclave.
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip. The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what they say is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson told the Reuters news agency: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
Ten children and two women are among at least 15 killed in an airstrike near a Gaza health clinic, according to an aid organisation.
Project Hope said it happened this morning near Altayara Junction, in Deir al Balah, as patients waited for the clinic to open.
The organisation’s president called it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza“.
“No child waiting for food and medicine should face the risk of being bombed,” added the group’s project manager, Dr Mithqal Abutaha.
“It was a horrific scene. People had to come seeking health and support, instead they faced death.”
Operations at the clinic – which provides a range of health and maternity services – have been suspended.
Some of the children were reportedly waiting to receive nutritional supplements, necessary due to the dire shortage of food being allowed into Gaza.
Israel‘s military is investigating and said it was targeting a militant who took part in the 7 October terror attack.
“The IDF [Israel Defence Force] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” added.
The deaths come as an agreement over a 60-day truce hangs in the balance – with President Trump cautiously saying it could happen “this week, or next week”.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital reported another 21 deaths in airstrikes in Khan Younis and in the nearby coastal area of Muwasi.
It said three children and their mother were among the dead.
Israel said its troops have been dismantling more than 130 Hamas infrastructure sites in Khan Younis over the past week, including missile launch sites, weapons storage facilities and a 500m tunnel.
On Wednesday, a soldier was shot dead when militants burst out of a tunnel and tried to abduct him, the military added.
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Do Trump and Netanyahu really get along?
Eighteen soldiers have been killed in the past three weeks – one of the deadliest periods for the Israeli army in months.
A 22-year-old Israeli man was also killed on Thursday by two attackers in a supermarket in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the Magen David Adom emergency service.
People on site reportedly shot and killed the attackers but information on their identity has so far not been released.
Read more:
IDF chief says conditions ‘created’ for Gaza ceasefire
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal ?
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Lack of food and water ‘lethal’ for Gaza children
Negotiations over a proposed 60-day ceasefire are ongoing and President Trump reportedly put “heavy” pressure on Israel’s leader, who visited the US this week.
A major sticking point is said to be the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.
However, Sky News understands the Israeli government thinks the chances of a permanent truce are “questionable”.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war – more than half are women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The war began in October 2023 after Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251 others.
Some of them remain In Gaza and are a crucial part of ceasefire negotiations, which also include a planned surge in humanitarian aid into the strip.
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