He is one of the most recognised captives. Posters with his image are pinned up across Israel. His mother, Rachel Goldberg, has met with world leaders and addressed the United Nations.
His parents said they were relieved to see him alive but were concerned about his health and wellbeing, as well as that of the other hostages.
Friends and supporters of Hersh Goldberg-Polin protest outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence.Credit: AP
“We are here today with a plea to all of the leaders of the parties who have been negotiating to date,” said his father, Jon Polin, naming Egypt, Israel, Qatar, the United States and Hamas.
“Be brave, lean in, seize this moment and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region,” he said in a video posted to Instagram.
Hostages’ families have accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of not doing enough to secure the release of their relatives.
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After the Hamas video was made public, hundreds of Israelis gathered outside Netanyahu’s official residence in central Jerusalem, calling on the government to strike a deal to bring home hostages. Many held posters of Goldberg-Polin, and some of the protesters set cardboard boxes on fire.
“We are afraid for his life, so we went to protest and call for the government to do whatever is possible to bring him and everybody else back, as soon as possible,” said one of the marchers, Nimrod Madrer.
“Bring them back home,” the crowd chanted.
At the nearby Great Synagogue, a large crowd jeered the country’s ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, chanting “shame” as he exited the building following a Passover gathering. One protester banged on Ben-Gvir’s car and was pushed away by police as it drove off.
A poster of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Re’im, near Israel’s border with Gaza, in February.Credit: AP
Hamas and other militants abducted around 250 people in the October 7 attack and killed around 1200, mostly civilians. They are still believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of some 30 others. Most of the rest were freed in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said Goldberg-Polin’s family had asked mediators to inquire about his fate for humanitarian reasons.
His family was “searching the world for any sign of him”, Hayya said in an interview with Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV. Hamas’ armed wing “sent a strong message by publishing this young man’s message directed at Netanyahu”, he said.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker another ceasefire and hostage release, but the talks appear to have stalled. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages unless Israel ends the war, which has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Netanyahu has rejected those demands, and says Israel remains committed to destroying Hamas and bringing all the hostages home. He has come under mounting criticism in Israel, where some say it will be impossible to do both.
AP
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