Hamas releases propaganda video with hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin
The Hamas terror group has released a new propaganda video featuring 23-year-old Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the hostages abducted from the Supernova raves near Re'im on the morning of October 7.
This is the first evidence that Hersh, who was injured during the abduction, is alive - or at least was alive at the Time of the recording.
The video is not dated, but Hersh mentions that "members of the Israeli government are currently sitting at the festive table," meaning the video was shot on the eve of Passover. During the abduction, Hersh Goldberg-Polin lost his hand when the terrorists threw a grenade inside the mobile shelter where he was hiding. His left arm is missing below the elbow.
In the video, Hersh says that he was born in California on March 10, 2000, and his parents, Jonathan and Rachel, live in Jerusalem. Then, he apparently reads a text given to him by the terrorists.
Hersh says that he has been in captivity "for almost 200 days," and all attempts to free him have failed. He says that "Israeli air strikes killed almost 70 hostages" like him. The hostage repeats Hamas's claims that the Israeli government rejects any deals for his release. In the video, the hostage repeatedly appeals to members of the Israeli government to immediately achieve the release of the kidnapped. Hamas has repeatedly stated that the cessation of hostilities and the release of hostages depend only on Israel's full compliance with the terrorists' demands, which Israel considers unrealistic and unfeasible.
Close relatives of the hostage, who hold both Israeli and American citizenship, confirmed that they recognized him in the video. Goldberg-Polin's mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, was chosen as one of Time's most influential people in the world earlier this month for her advocacy efforts on behalf of hostages and their families. "Hope is mandatory. I believe it, and I have to believe it, that he will come back to us," she said.