Former Richmond resident among six hostages found dead in Gaza

Israel said Sunday morning it had recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza. Among them was Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose parents led a high-profile campaign to free the captives.

The military said the six were killed shortly before Israeli forces were to rescue them, and their bodies were found in a tunnel under the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The news prompted calls for mass protests from the hostages’ families, who said they could have been returned alive under a ceasefire agreement.

Goldberg-Polin and four other hostages were taken from a music festival where Palestinian militants killed dozens of people. A sixth was captured in a nearby farming community.

The six victims were identified as: 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 25-year-old Ori Danino, 24-year-old Eden Yerushalmi, 27-year-old Almog Sarusi, 33-year-old Aleksandr Lobanov and 40-year-old Carmel Gata.

President Joe Biden issued a statement in response to the tragedy, saying he was devastated and outraged.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin is to be buried in Jerusalem.

Governor Glenn Youngkin ordered flags to be flown at half-staff Tuesday in his honor and issued the following statement on the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin:

After 330 days of pain since the brutal October 7 terrorist attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and took hundreds more hostage, Johnathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg woke up to the unthinkable news that no parent should ever have to hear. Suzanne and I are outraged and heartbroken over the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a senseless murder by terrorists. Today, Virginians, Americans, and the world join in prayer with the Goldberg-Polin family and Keneseth Beth Israel Synagogue.

Governor Glenn Youngkin

Senator Mark Warner also issued a statement:

I am heartbroken for the Goldberg-Polin family, whose son and brother Hersh were brutally murdered by Hamas along with five other hostages taken on October 7, 2023. Over the past 330 days, Rachel and Jon have shown extraordinary strength and grace in the face of overwhelming personal devastation, drawing on their love for Hersh to share his light and selfless spirit with the world and advocate for his return. Hersh’s kidnapping while peacefully enjoying a music festival and his subsequent murder are further evidence of the violence and corruption of Hamas that has caused pain and suffering throughout the region for far too long.

Today my prayers are with the entire Goldberg-Polin family as they mourn. May Hersh’s memory be a blessing.

Senator Mark Warner