JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Massive crowds protested in Israel on Sunday after the bodies of six more hostages were recovered in Gaza.
Protesters called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Histadrut, the largest trade union in Israel, called for a general strike on Monday in protest.
Israel’s military said early Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from Gaza, including 23-year-old Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had become widely known due to his family’s efforts to secure his release, including an appearance at last month’s Democratic National Convention.
Goldberg-Polin’s family released a statement Sunday.
“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time,” the statement said.
This combination of six undated photos shows hostages, from top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, from bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat, who were held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza.
AP/The Hostages Families Forum
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AP/The Hostages Families Forum
The Israeli military said it located and recovered the six bodies from “an underground tunnel in the Rafah area in the Gaza Strip and returned them to Israeli territory.”
Israel’s health ministry said the “six abductees were murdered by Hamas terrorists in a number of short-range shots” and that forensic examination showed they were killed in the last few days.
Protesters say it means that a cease-fire deal could have saved them.
More than 100,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Tel Aviv, according to organizers, where people waved Israeli flags and others held signs calling Netanyahu a murderer and a criminal. Many feel Netanyahu is the one holding up a deal.
“Time after time there’s a chance to bring them home, and he finds other reasons for it not to happen, so we just have to do something,” said Ronit Katzenstein-Nahmias.
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In a statement from the official forum representing hostage families, the remaining five hostages were identified as Carmel Gat, 40; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Alexander Lobanov, 32; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Ori Danino, 25.
They are some of the youngest hostages that were kidnapped on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants. Five of them were taken from a music festival that day at the Israel-Gaza border. The sixth was taken from a nearby border farm.
President Biden issued a statement late Saturday saying he was “devastated and outraged.”
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, made an appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21 to apply pressure to help bring hostages abducted by militants back home. They had met with world leaders, including the pope.
Jon Polin, left, and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, pictured on screen, speak during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21 in Chicago.
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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Biden’s statement said Goldberg-Polin’s parents “have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions.”
“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” Biden’s statement continued.
Goldberg-Polin, a native of Berkeley, Calif., was abducted at a music festival on Oct. 7 during the Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials. About 250 hostages were taken by Hamas and other attackers.
The Israeli government estimates there are over 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, with about one-third of them believed to be dead.
Relatives and supporters of the hostages say Netanyahu has not done enough to make a deal with Hamas to secure their release.
Negotiations have stalled for months. Netanyahu insists military pressure is the best strategy despite public disagreement with his top security officials.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks has killed more than 40,602 people and injured more than 93,855, according to the Gaza Health Ministry as of Aug. 29.
In a video statement Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel has been “holding intensive negotiations with the mediator” in recent days to reach a deal but said Hamas had refused all proposals.
“Whoever murders hostages — does not want a deal,” he said. “For our part, we will not relent. The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving toward a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence.”
The head of Israel’s National Unity Party blamed Netanyahu, posting on social media: “He should protect the abductees and not his coalition controlled by extremists.”
NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.
