Washington, DC [US], April 24 : Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on Wednesday. The video is the first proof that he survived being badly injured during his capture on October 7, CNN reported.
Goldberg-Polin, then 23, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7. More than 1,200 people died and over 200 people were taken hostage when Hamas launched an attack on Israel in October.
In the video, he is seen with part of his left arm missing several inches above the hand. The videos posted on October 7 showed Goldberg-Polin with his arm severely wounded. A young woman, who was in a bunker with him when Hamas attacked, said he helped to throw grenades out before his arm was blown off from the elbow down.
In the latest video shared by the terrorist group, Goldberg-Polin was seen sitting on a chair, addressing the camera. While speaking about himself mentioning the names of his parents and giving his date of birth, he occasionally gestured with his injured arm.
In the video, Hersh Goldberg-Polin said he has been "here for almost 200 days," suggesting that the video was captured shortly before Tuesday, the 200th day of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, according to CNN report.
He slammed the Israeli government similar to what other Israeli hostages have done in propaganda videos shared by Hamas. Held captive by Hamas for six months in Gaza, Goldberg-Polin is almost certainly speaking under duress.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin also spoke about Israeli government ministers having holiday dinners with their families, an apparent reference to the Jewish holiday of Passover, which started on Monday night, CNN reported.
He urged his own family to remain strong for him and concluded by saying that he hoped he was able to give them some comfort on the holiday.
Goldberg-Polin is among the most recognizable of the 129 hostages who continue to remain held in Gaza. Banners and murals displayed in Jerusalem read, "Bring Hersh Home," CNN reported.
His parents Rachel and Jonathan have regularly met top US officials in Washington to pressurise them about the case of hostages held in Gaza, CNN reported.
Of the 129 October 7 hostages still held captive by Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli government believes 33 are dead. Hersh Goldberg-Polin's mother Rachel Goldberg-Polin has campaigned for her son's release for the past six months. He was scheduled to go on a round-the-world trip he had planned.
On December 27, when he had planned to depart for the round-the-world trip, his mother visited the airport with friends and handed stickers of Hersh to passengers travelling on his flight, asking them to share photos from places they visited.
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