Editor’s Note: Warning: This story contains a graphic image.
Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on Wednesday, the first proof that he survived being badly wounded during his capture on October 7.
Goldberg-Polin, then 23, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas’ attacks on Israel when more than 1,200 people died and more than 200 people were taken hostage.
He is shown in the undated video with part of his left arm missing several inches above the hand.
Video filmed on October 7 showed Goldberg-Polin with his arm severely injured. A firsthand account from a young woman, who was in a bunker with him when Hamas attacked, said he helped to throw grenades out, before his arm was blown off from the elbow down.
The latest video shows Goldberg-Polin sitting in a chair, addressing the camera. Gesturing occasionally with his injured arm, he identifies himself and gives his date of birth and parents’ names.
He says he has been “here for almost 200 days,” suggesting the video was filmed shortly before Tuesday, the 200th day of the war.
Goldberg-Polin’s hair is cropped short in the video, which is edited with a number of cuts from wide shot to close up.
He criticizes the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as other Israeli hostages in Hamas propaganda videos have done. Held captive in Gaza for six months, he is almost certainly speaking under duress.
He mentions Israeli government ministers sitting down to holiday dinners with their families, an apparent reference to the Jewish holiday of Passover, which began Monday night and is traditionally celebrated with a family dinner.
He urges his own family to stay strong for him and finishes by saying he hopes he was able to give them some comfort on the holiday.
Goldberg-Polin is among the most recognizable of the 129 hostages who remain in Gaza. Banners and murals are displayed in Jerusalem, saying: “Bring Hersh Home,” and his parents Rachel and Jonathan regularly meet top US officials in Washington to press the case of the hostages.
Of the 129 October 7 hostages still being held in Gaza, the Israeli government believes 33 are dead.
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said Goldberg-Polin’s “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.”
“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,” the group said in a statement.
“All the hostages must be brought home – those alive to begin the process of rehabilitation, and those murdered for a dignified burial.”
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh’s mother, has campaigned for her son’s release for the past six months. She told CNN in January that she wears a piece of tape marking each day that has passed since Hersh was snatched by Hamas fighters.
Hersh, 23, was set to go on a round-the-world trip he had planned. On December 27, when he had been scheduled to leave, his mother went to the airport with friends and handed stickers of Hersh to passengers on his flight, asking them to send photos from places they visit.
This story has been updated with further developments.
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