Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, the American-Israeli hostage who lost his left hand when being abducted by Hamas from the Nova music festival on October 7, has been found dead in Gaza by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers.
Goldberg-Polin was identified after news broke Saturday that the IDF had discovered a number of unidentified bodies in Gaza. Amid rumors spreading throughout Israel on social media, the IDF asked the public to wait before it had identified the bodies.
Israel’s Army Radio announced Sunday morning local time that Goldberg-Polin had been identified as one of the dead. The immediate cause of death had not been identified. Army Radio also announced that the family of Israeli hostage Ori Danino, 25, who had been abducted after saving people from the music festival, had also been identified as one of the dead. So, too, had Eden Yerushalmi, 24, an Israeli woman who had spoken with her family before being abducted.
The voices of the radio announcers were heavy and near tears, despite the near-routine nature of military news.
Hersh was among the iconic hostages, featured prominently in demonstrations and even in graffiti on the walls of buildings in western Jerusalem, where he and his family lived after moving to Israel from the U.S.
Relatives and supporters raise placards and deploy a banner bearing portraits of Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and other hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel, during a rally calling for their release, outside the PM’s office in Jerusalem on May 22, 2024. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Goldberg-Polin appeared in a video released by Hamas in April as part of its effort to exert psychological pressure on the Israeli public and the Israeli government to force a hostage deal on unfavorable terms. He appeared thin, but alive.
This story is developing.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Elizabeth Weibel contributed to this story.
