(PatriotWise.com) — Hamas on Wednesday released video footage of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was among the more than 200 people taken captive during the October 7 terrorist attacks.
The video, which was the first sign that the 23-year-old Goldberg-Palin was still alive, ignited protests in Jerusalem as Israelis renewed their demands that the government do more to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
In the propaganda video, Goldberg-Polin, speaking under duress, accused the Israeli government of abandoning the hostages and claimed that 70 hostages had been killed in IDF bombings.
While it was not clear when the video was made, Goldberg-Polin, whose left hand and forearm were missing, said he had been held “nearly 200 days,” suggesting that the video was made recently.
The 23-year-old was one of the hostages taken from the Nova music festival on October 7.
Survivors of the Nova festival attack reported that Goldberg-Polin’s arm was blown off when the terrorists threw grenades into the shelter where he and others had hidden. Goldberg-Polin managed to secure a makeshift tourniquet on his arm before he was abducted and thrown into a truck by Hamas terrorists.
A source claimed that Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Blinken, had made several requests for assistance from Qatar to receive proof of life for the American hostages remaining in Gaza.
A US official confirmed that the Biden administration received the propaganda video last Monday and had been in touch with the Goldberg-Polin family. According to the official, investigators with the FBI and Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell were examining the footage.
In a video statement released on Wednesday, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari described the video as “psychological terror” and said it served as a reminder “of what Hamas is” and the “atrocities it committed on October 7.”
After viewing their son’s video, Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin urged the Israeli government to publicly release the footage and called on the parties involved in negotiating the release of the hostages to “seize this moment” to secure a deal that would reunite the families with their loved ones “and end the suffering in this region.”
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