Terror group Hamas has released a sickening proof-of-life video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, nearly seven months after he was kidnapped following the brutal October 7 invasion.
The 24-year-old, born in California in March 2000, who was taken from the Nova Festival on October 7, was seen in a video posted by Hamas today blaming Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for leaving him with the terror group for 200 days.
Goldberg-Polin, who can be seen missing his left hand and part of his arm, begins by identifying himself, before saying: ‘I was arrested on October 7 at the Nova Festival in Rei’m. I went out seeking entertainment with my friends.
The emaciated man, who has spent more than six months as a hostage and was seen with a shaved head, said: ‘Instead, I found myself struggling to survive with serious injuries all over my body.
‘Nevertheless, I took it upon myself to protect myself and the people who were afraid around me because there was no one to protect us that day.
He then blames Netanyahu and his government’s decision not to rescue the hostages, saying: ‘Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, [you] should be ashamed of yourselves because you neglected us along with thousands of other citizens.
‘You should be ashamed of yourselves for leaving us for two hundred days, and all the efforts of the army have failed.
‘Also, you should be ashamed because all the deals that were offered to you were rejected. Don’t you want to end this nightmare?
‘Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government, at a time when you are holding lunched with your families, think of us detainees in underground hell without water, food, or sun; without the treatment I need for so long.
‘I ask you the Prime Minister, your government and the cabinet. Every day we are here, you ignore us more and more, and you ignore our blood.
‘Do what is expected of you and bring us home immediately, or has this become too big for you?
‘It is time to hand over the government keys and evacuate the ministries and sit in your homes.
After the anti-Netanyahu comments, he then pivots to tell his family how much he misses and loves them.
‘Another and last thing is more important than all; my mother, my father, Liby and Orly – I love you so much and miss you so much, and I thijnk about you every day that passes on me.
‘I know you’re doing your best to get me home as soon as possible. I want you to stay strong for me, and not stop until we all return home in peace.’
Referencing Passover, he finished by saying: ‘I expect and hope to see you very soon after all this tragedy is over. It won’t be a happy holiday for me, but I wish you one.’
The hostage’s forum in Tel Aviv told MailOnline: ‘For more than 200 days, 133 hostages have been held captive by Hamas, enduring daily physical, sexual, and psychological torment.
‘Hersh’s cry is the collective cry of all the hostages – their time is rapidly running out. With each passing day, the fear of losing more innocent lives grows stronger.
‘We cannot afford to waste any more time; the hostages must be the top priority.
‘All the hostages must be brought home – those alive to begin the process of rehabilitation, and those murdered for a dignified burial.
‘This distressing video serves as an urgent call to take swift and decisive action to resolve this horrific humanitarian crisis and ensure the safe return of our loved ones.’
Previous video footage shows Goldberg-Polin and several other young men were piled into the back of a vehicle at gunpoint. They are shown pulling themselves into the truck, including Hersh, who conducted himself calmly despite his calamitous injury.
In the video, Goldberg-Polin’s bloody left limb was seen protruding as he hoisted himself into the truck at around 9am on Saturday October 7 at the Nova music festival in southern Israel.
The footage, initially uncovered by Anderson Cooper’s team at CNN, showed several Palestinian terrorists dragging three other young men into the truck with Goldberg-Polin, the last of whom was thrown on top of the three injured men.
Rachel Goldberg, Hersh’s mother, has been a key hostages activist and has pushed for Hamas to release the estimated 129 remaining hostages, who today marked 200 days as prisoners.
The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the unprecedented October 7 raid into southern Israel in which the militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, around two-thirds of them children and women.
Despite the bloody cost of the war, Israel is still preparing to follow through until the end, and was this week seen building an enormous tent city to evacuate the more than one million Palestinians who have sought refuge in Rafah, the last standing city in the Gaza Strip.
Photos from satellite imaging company Planet Labs show a marked build up of tents in a uniform pattern near Khan Younis, which has largely been levelled during the bloody invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israel’s military.
The photos, taken three days apart on April 18 and April 21 respectively, show white structures being built up significantly over a short period of time.
Israel has said several times that it plans to evacuate displaced civilians from Rafah ahead of a six-week military operation that will likely begin in May.
Egyptian officials told the Wall Street Journal that the first few weeks will be dedicated to evacuating refugees to Khan Younis and other areas equipped with shelters and medical facilities.
The preparations come as the US says that Hamas is gearing up for a ‘full-scale regional war.’
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said that Hamas was ‘moving the goalposts’ in hostage and ceasefire negotiations, adding that the terror group declined a ‘very significant proposal’, though did not specify what this was.
He said: ‘It certainly does seem like Hamas is more interested in a full-scale regional war.
‘It takes two to make an agreement, and right now Hamas has signalled that they don’t want an agreement.’
Miller urged Hamas to stay at the table, telling the group the ball was ‘in their court.’
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
