Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin has been confirmed dead, his family announced early Sunday.
Goldberg-Polin, 23, was kidnapped at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas's attack on the Jewish state on October 7. He lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack.
His body was recovered on Saturday in the tunnels beneath Rafah, along with five other hostages, after he was killed by Hamas.
According to a statement from his family, the man, who has dual US-Israeli citizenship, immigrated to Israel with his family in 2008 at the age of seven. He leaves behind his parents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, and his two sisters.
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Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin has been confirmed dead. (Israeli Defense Minister)
Goldberg-Polin’s family and friends traveled the world demanding her release and met with world leaders, including Biden administration officials.
President Biden said he is “devastated and outraged” by the news of Goldberg-Polin's death.
“This is as tragic as it is reprehensible,” he said. “Make no mistake: Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will continue to work tirelessly to achieve an agreement that will secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, also a Democratic presidential candidate, said her prayers are with Goldberg-Polin's loved ones as they mourn her loss.
“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization,” Harris said. “With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas's continued brutality, and so should the entire world. From the massacre of 1,200 people to the sexual violence, the hostage-taking, and these murders, Hamas's depravity is obvious and horrifying.”
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Goldberg-Polin, 23, was kidnapped at a music festival in southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7. (FDI)
“The threat that Hamas poses to the people of Israel – and to American citizens in Israel – must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza,” he added. “The Palestinian people have also suffered under Hamas rule for nearly two decades.”
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The other bodies recovered on Saturday are those of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Sergeant Major Ori Danino.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Whoever kills hostages does not want a deal. We are in a difficult moment. The heart of the entire nation is torn.”
Like all citizens of Israel, I was deeply shocked by the terrible cold-blooded murder of six of our hostages.
The six victims were shot dead by their captors shortly before the Israel Defense Forces arrived, according to the IDF. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he “accepts”[s] To their families with all my heart and I apologize.[s] for not having returned them safely home.”
“A few hours ago we informed the families that IDF troops had located the bodies of their loved ones in an underground tunnel in Rafah,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them.”
Fox News' Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
