Israeli-American hostage featured in Hamas propaganda video

Hamas released a propaganda video appearing to feature an Israeli American hostage who remains held captive by the terrorist group in Gaza.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was seated in a chair and addressed the camera directly in the video. The video shows that his left hand and forearm had been amputated. Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023.

In the video, which was filmed under duress, Goldberg-Polin criticizes the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they should be ashamed. He also identified himself and his date of birth, and he characterized his kidnapping as an arrest.

He references being “here for almost 200 days,” indicating that the video, if he was telling the truth, was likely filmed shortly before Tuesday, the 200th day of the war.

“Hersh’s cry is the collective cry of all the hostages – their time is rapidly running out,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of and securing the freedom of the hostages, said in a statement. “With each passing day, the fear of losing more innocent lives grows stronger. We cannot afford to waste any more time; the hostages must be the top priority. All the hostages must be brought home – those alive to begin the process of rehabilitation, and those murdered for a dignified burial.”

The video represents the first confirmation that Goldberg-Polin survived after being badly wounded during his kidnapping.

Hamas kidnapped about 253 people during the Oct. 7 attacks, in addition to murdering roughly 1,200 people, and about 130 are still being held hostage in Gaza. It is unclear how many of the hostages are still alive.

Goldberg-Polin is one of five Americans believed to be alive and held hostage in Gaza. The other four are Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Omer Neutra, and Keith Siegel.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council told the Washington Examiner that it received the Goldberg-Polin video on Monday and that the FBI is examining it to see if any intelligence can be learned from it.

One former hostage, who was released during the weeklong ceasefire that took place in late November, said she was sexually assaulted while in captivity.

In March, the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict “found clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has been committed against hostages and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing against those still held in captivity.”

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The U.S., Qatar, and Egypt have sought to broker a second ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, but they have not been able to break through since the end of the first ceasefire agreement last year.

The two sides appeared close to a deal about two weeks ago with a U.S.-proposed deal, but it has not come to fruition. President Joe Biden said on April 10 that it’s “now up to Hamas” and that, “they need to move on the proposal that has been made,” but the negotiations have not resulted in a deal yet.

A day before Biden’s comments, Vice President Kamala Harris met with the family members of American hostages, including Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg, Hersh’s parents.