Responding to the news that Hersh Goldberg Pollin was among the bodies found by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza, President Joe Biden said “Hamas leaders will pay a price for these crimes.”
Biden: statement Biden said it had been “confirmed” that Goldberg-Polin was “one of the hostages” killed by Hamas terrorists. Biden called Goldberg-Polin's death “tragic” and “reprehensible.”
“Earlier today, Israeli forces discovered the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in an underground tunnel in the city of Rafah,” Biden said in a statement. “We can confirm that one of the hostages killed by vicious Hamas terrorists was American citizen Hersh Goldberg Pollin.”
Biden added that he was “shocked and outraged.”
“Hersh was one of the innocent people brutally attacked on October 7th while attending a Music for Peace festival in Israel,” Biden added. “He lost an arm while helping friends and strangers during a brutal Hamas massacre. He had just turned 23 and had plans to travel the world. I got to know his parents, John and Rachel, and they were brave, wise and unwavering as they endured unimaginable circumstances. They were relentless and irrepressible advocates for their son and for all hostages held in inhumane conditions. I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express.”
“I know all Americans are praying for them tonight, as are Jill and I,” Biden continued. “I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them, and I am heartbroken by the news of his death, which is as reprehensible as it is tragic. Make no mistake: Hamas leaders will pay a price for these crimes, and we will continue to work day and night toward an agreement to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
As Breitbart News previously reported:
Israel Army Radio announced Sunday morning local time that Goldberg-Polin was identified as one of the dead. The immediate cause of death has not been determined. Army Radio also announced that the family of Israeli hostage Olio Danino, 25, who was kidnapped after rescuing people from a music festival, was also identified as among the dead. An Israeli woman, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, who had spoken to the family before he was abducted, was also identified as among the dead.
Hersh was one of more than 250 hostages taken after Hamas terrorists launched a land, sea and air invasion of Israel that killed 1,200 people.
Goldberg-Polin and others attending the Supernova festival sought refuge in a roadside rocket shelter. While they were inside, a Hamas terrorist lobbed a grenade into the shelter, resulting in Goldberg-Polin losing his left arm below the elbow.
Rachel Goldberg Pollin and her husband, John Pollin, recently spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and said calling for the hostages' release was “not a political issue.”
Goldberg-Polin was last seen in a video released by Hamas in April in an attempt to pressure the Israeli government into agreeing to a bad hostage deal.
