An Israeli hostage’s parents told him “we love you, stay strong, survive” after he appeared missing part of his arm in a video released by Hamas.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin kidnapped at Nova music festival during Hamas attack Israel on October 7.
The video shows him without the lower part of his left arm; Witnesses said he was sent flying when he helped throw grenades from a shelter where people were hiding.
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He reportedly used his shirt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, but was captured.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin (center) was one of the more than 200 people kidnapped. Photo: Reuters
In the undated video, clearly under pressure, the 23-year-old criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, saying they should be “ashamed” for failing to secure the release of the hostages.
He also claims that Israeli bombings have killed “about 70 detainees like me” and that the rest live in an “underground hell without water, food or sun.”
Goldberg-Polin, wearing a red shirt and sitting against a white wall, ends with a plea to his parents, telling them to “stay strong” and “I love you so much and I miss you so much.”
His parents responded to Wednesday’s video by filming their own emotional response.
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Jon Polin says hearing from his son for the first time in more than 200 days is “overwhelming.”
“We are relieved to see him alive, but we are also concerned for his health and well-being, as well as that of all the other hostages and all those suffering in this region,” he says.
Polin calls on countries involved in the negotiations to “be brave, lean in, seize this moment and reach an agreement to reunite us all with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region.”
His mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, stares into the camera and says, “Hersh, if you can hear his, today we heard your voice for the first time in 201 days… I’m telling you, we’re telling you. – we love, stay strong, survive.”
Rachel Goldberg holds photos of her son a few weeks after the October attack. Photo: Reuters
Friends and family continue to raise awareness about his captivity. Photo: Reuters
The 23-year-old was born in California but moved to Jerusalem with his family when he was younger.
He was among about 250 Israelis and foreigners kidnapped in the initial Hamas attack, which also killed about 1,200 people.
Some hostages were freed in a deal last yearBut more than 100 remain missing and there is enormous pressure in Israel for the government to return them home.
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Israel’s goal of eliminating Hamas has so far killed more than 34,000 people in Loopaccording to the Hamas-run health authority.
Hundreds of thousands of people are also said to be on the brink of famine and have been forced to flee the violence.
Fears are growing that a ground attack on the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering, is imminent after Netanyahu said Israel was “moving ahead” with its plans.