The mother and father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and murdered by Hamas terrorists after surviving 11 months in captivity, made a video plea to President Donald Trump after the newest hostage launch.
In a video message shared on Instagram, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin reacted to the discharge of civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56. They have been among the many 250 individuals who have been taken through the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages have been compelled to talk throughout a Hamas handover ceremony, igniting outrage, as Israel in flip launched almost 200 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday.
“We acquired the fantastic information that Eli, Or and Ohad we launched immediately,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin mentioned in a video shared to the “Convey.Hersh.Residence” account, which has garnered greater than 173,000 followers. “We additionally felt this actual connection to Or and his household as a result of Or and Hersh have been each kidnapped collectively from the identical bomb shelter on the identical pickup truck on Oct. 7. And in reality, Or’s brother, Mikha’el, contacted us proper after Shabbat immediately to inform us that one in all Or’s first questions he requested his brother this morning was ‘how is Hersh doing?’ As a result of he had assumed that Hersh had been launched way back, and his brother needed to clarify to him that Hersh had been murdered 5 months in the past.”
Jon Polin then addressed Trump, in addition to U.S. particular envoy to the Center East Steve Witkoff, imploring them to safe the discharge of the remaining 76 hostages this week.
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Israeli captives, from left to the correct, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who’ve been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas earlier than being handed over to the Crimson Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photograph/Abdel Kareem Hana)
“Seeing the situation of those three hostages, listening to that Or had no thought what occurred to Hersh, that Eli was unaware of the destiny of his spouse and his daughters, is only a intestine punch to all of us that we have to do extra,” Jon Polin mentioned. “And I am turning on to President Trump and to Mr. Witkoff, you have got proven that you’re the one ones who’re capable of get this case shifting, shifting ahead, and my plea to you, our plea to you proper now’s – now that you’ve got achieved the arduous half in getting motion, getting a deal began, let’s not take into consideration Section 1 and Section 2 and Section 3 in lots of months. Let’s suppose larger and quicker. All 76 hostages out this week. Finish of conflict. Who advantages from dragging it out for therefore lengthy? Not the individuals of this area. Let’s get it achieved proper now. Thanks.”
“Godspeed,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin added.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin and 5 different hostages have been murdered by Hamas terrorists final August shortly earlier than Israeli troops reached the tunnel the place they have been being held in southern Gaza. Israeli troops recovered the six our bodies from the tunnel, and Israeli forensic consultants mentioned they’d been shot at shut vary after surviving almost a yr in captivity.
Israeli captive Or Levy, who has been held hostage in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas earlier than being handed over to the Crimson Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photograph/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Goldberg-Polin, a local of Berkeley, California, was attending a music pageant when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 individuals and taking 250 others hostage. He misplaced a part of his left arm to a grenade blast through the assault. In April, a Hamas-issued video confirmed him speaking under duress along with his left hand lacking, sparking new protests in Israel.
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Of their first hours as free males, the three Israeli hostages launched on Saturday have been starting to confront the tragic realities to which they returned
Sharabi returned to Israel after 16 months of captivity. He was informed solely after his return that his spouse and two daughters had been killed within the Oct. 7 assault, in accordance with experiences in Israeli media.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was murdered by Hamas. (Israel’s Minister of Protection)
Levy “was undecided” what occurred to his spouse on that day, his mom, Geula, informed Israeli media on Saturday, including that he was not uncovered to media experiences whereas in Gaza. Levy was taken from a bomb shelter close to the Nova music pageant in southern Israel and his spouse, Einav, was killed within the assault. His mom mentioned he additionally requested about Goldberg-Polin, who was kidnapped from the identical bomb shelter. Levy was reunited Saturday along with his 3-year-old son.
A 3rd launched hostage, Ben Ami, sat huddled along with his spouse and three daughters in a hospital hall. He informed them: “I’ve quite a lot of issues to compensate for.” Ben Ami is a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, one of many hardest hit communities on Oct. 7. “I have to get solutions to quite a lot of issues, and I do know a few of them shall be troublesome solutions,” he mentioned in footage launched by the Israeli Prime Minister’s workplace. “I have to know what occurred on that day.”
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It was the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners for the reason that present Israel-Hamas ceasefire started on Jan. 19.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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