'We must act': Parents of murdered hostage call for solutions to save remaining captives in Gaza

Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin are still mourning the death of their son Hersh, who was brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists last month, along with five others, just before Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers reached him. However, they aren’t giving up their fight for the immediate release of the 101 hostages still being held captive in the Gaza enclave.

In an online video posted on Thursday, Hersh’s parents reminded the public of the ongoing crisis and urgency of the hostages’ situation, calling on supporters to write to the White House and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and keep advocating wherever and however they can.

Goldberg-Polin and five other captives – Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi – were brutally executed by Hamas terrorists at close range in an underground tunnel near the southern Gazan city of Rafah after more than 300 days in captivity.

Just days before their son and the other hostages were murdered, Hersh’s parents gave an emotional speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, reminding the crowd that the need to bring the hostages home is a humanitarian issue, “not a political one.”

Since Hersh’s capture on Oct. 7 at the Supernova music festival, his parents have campaigned tirelessly for the hostages’ release. In addition to meeting with U.S. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, they’ve met with Pope Francis and traveled to New York and Geneva, Switzerland to speak with United Nations officials.

In the video, Hersh’s parents wore labels on their shirts with “342” written on them, representing the number of days that have passed since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.

“We are still in mourning, but we are also in an emergency situation,” Polin said. “We are speaking on our behalf, but also in the sweet memories of the precious souls of Hersh, Alex, Almog, Ori, Eden and Carmel.”

“Their deaths could have and should have been avoided,” he said. “People in positions of power failed them and failed us as their families. No other family should experience what we are experiencing. We must continue to act to save the remaining 101.”

“We have people whose lives are hanging in the balance, and we don’t want any other family to experience what we are currently experiencing, along with the precious other five that Jon mentioned,” Goldberg-Polin added.

Watch :
Rachel and Jon Goldberg Polin in a special request 🎗️🙏🏻♥️:
Bring them home 🎗️ pic.twitter.com/W2758eZFXs
— Iris (@streetwize) September 12, 2024

Addressing supporters who have offered to help, she said: “Keep writing to the White House, keep writing to the prime minister, keep wearing the tape, keep going out and advocating.”

“We have to figure out a way to get these people home before it’s too late,” she says. “So please keep doing what you have been doing for all of these days. It’s Day 342. Let’s get this to an end in the memory of those beautiful six.”

A PMO statement on Thursday reiterated that the Hamas terror group is concealing its ongoing opposition to a deal for the release of hostages and continues to sabotage efforts.

“While Israel accepted the ‘final bridging proposal’ that the US brought up on August 16, Hamas turned it down, and even murdered six of our hostages in cold blood,” the PMO noted. “The world must demand from Hamas that it release our hostages immediately.”

The White House said the final bridging proposal includes a promise by Israel to withdraw its forces from heavily populated areas along the Philadelphi Corridor. The day after the bodies of the six hostages were returned to Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adamantly defended the “strategic imperative” to maintain Israeli troops along the Gazan border with Egypt.

Hamas met with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha on Wednesday where the terror group issued a statement saying it was ready “for the immediate implementation of the ceasefire agreement based on President Biden’s declaration.”

In a radio interview, Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar stated: “There is no doubt that military pressure endangers the hostages.”

“It’s not that we think the hostages are in a good situation,” he stated. “Their lives are in constant danger, especially when there is fire close to where they are, or even where they are, and this is the complexity of this war.”

Zohar added that an agreement has yet to be reached “because we are facing a terrorist organization that is not rational and only understands military power.”

When asked how an agreement could be reached, Zohar responded, “Only with military pressure.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has openly and publicly objected to Netanyahu's stance regarding the Philadelphi Corridor.

He has repeated his position, which he claims aligns with the professional opinion of the security establishment, that the IDF can – and should – withdraw from the corridor to reach an agreement with Hamas that would lead to the release of a significant number of the remaining 101 Israeli hostages.