April 24, 2024 – Israel-Hamas war

Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin criticized the Israeli government and urged his family to stay strong in the video released by Hamas on Wednesday.

Goldberg-Polin’s hair is cropped short in the video, which is edited with a number of cuts from wide shot to close up. It is the first proof that he survived his injuries sustained during the militant group’s October 7 attacks.

He criticizes the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as other Israeli hostages in Hamas propaganda videos have done. Held captive in Gaza for six months, he is almost certainly speaking under duress.

He mentions Israeli government ministers sitting down to holiday dinners with their families, an apparent reference to the Jewish holiday of Passover, which began Monday night and is traditionally celebrated with a family dinner. 

He urges his own family to stay strong for him and finishes by saying he hopes he was able to give them some comfort on the holiday.

Goldberg-Polin was born in the United States but his family moved to Israel in 2008.

His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, told CNN shortly after the attacks that they last heard from their son that day, when they received two WhatsApp messages in the same minute; one reading “I love you.” and the next “I’m sorry.” Goldberg immediately tried to call him, but said: “It just rang and rang.”