Israel returns the bodies of 6 hostages from Gaza, including Goldberg-Polin By Reuters
Written by Ari Rabinovitch and Stephanie Kelly
JERUSALEM – Israel has removed the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza where it appears they were killed shortly before Israeli forces arrived, the military said on Sunday.
“According to our initial assessment, they were brutally killed by Hamas terrorists a short time before we reached them,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters at a briefing.
A few days ago, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a member of the Bedouin community in southern Israel, was rescued about a kilometer away, the army said.
The Israeli military said the bodies of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino were brought to Israel.
American President Joe Biden, who has closely followed the fate of the hostages who were kidnapped on October 7, said that the six included Israeli American Goldberg-Polin.
“I am frustrated and angry,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
After Alkadi was found, the Israeli army was told to be on high alert because of the possibility that there might be other hostages in the area, but there was no specific information about the location of the hostages, Hagari said.
Hamas and its armed wing did not immediately comment on the allegations.
At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured during Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday.
The war began when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
On Saturday, clashes broke out between Israeli and Palestinian forces in the West Bank as Israel continued its military operation in the city of Jenin. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been on the offensive since Wednesday in one of their biggest operations in the West Bank in months.
Goldberg-Polin, who was taken at a music festival near Gaza, appeared in a video released by Hamas in late April.
“He had just turned 23. He was planning to travel the world,” said Biden. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, “were brave, smart and strong, as they endured the unthinkable,” Biden said.
“They were unwavering and unstoppable champions of their son and all the captives held in harsh conditions. I love them and grieve with them more deeply than words can describe,” the president said.
Biden vowed that “the leaders of Hamas will pay for this crime. And we will continue to work around the clock to make an agreement to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement, “I strongly condemn the ongoing brutality of Hamas, as well as the rest of the world. Harris, a candidate for the Democratic Alliance who is running to succeed Biden, said that he and he will never waver in their commitment to free the American people and all those held captive in Gaza.
Earlier, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden said he remains “hopeful” about a ceasefire agreement to end the conflict.
“I think we are on the verge of making an agreement,” he said. “It's time for this war to end.”
Biden added that “people continue to come together.”
“We think we can close the deal, they all said they agree on the terms.”
