Hostages Killed in Gaza Spark Israel Protests

The bodies of five attendees of the Supernova Festival, which Hamas attacked on Oct. 7 igniting the Israel-Hamas war, were recovered on Saturday, Israel officials said on Sunday, the Associated Press reports. The body of a sixth hostage was also recovered. The news sparked protests across Israel on Sunday.

Among those killed were Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who attended the festival; Eden Yerushalmi, 24, who was bartending the event; Alexander Lobanov, 33, served as a bar manager during the festival; Almog Sarusi, 27, attended the festival with his girlfriend, who was killed during the attack; and Ori Danino, 25, who was kidnapped while driving back to help others escape. Carmel Gat, 40, was also killed; Gat had been abducted from a nearby community after militants broke into her parents’ home where she was staying and kidnapped her the day of the festival; her parents were killed in the attack.

Israeli forces were working to rescue the hostages, but they had been killed by Hamas and their bodies were found in an underground tunnel in the Gaza city of Rafah, the military said. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said (via Axios) the hostages were killed “shortly before IDF forces reached them.”

The news of the killing of the hostages has sparked protests in Israel, with tens of thousands taking to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities on Sunday, calling for the release of the remaining hostages. Protesters accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to secure a cease-fire deal to save the remaining hostages.

Meanwhile, Israel’s largest labor union, Histadrut, has called for a nationwide general strike to begin on Monday to call for a hostage deal.

President Joe Biden addressed the death of Israeli-American Goldberg-Polin on Saturday. “I am devastated and outraged. Hersh was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on October 7,” Biden said in a statement. “He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’ savage massacre. He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world.”

Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, began advocating for the captives’ release days after the festival massacre. Their impassioned plea was one of the most stirring moments at the Democratic National Convention last month, where they called for the release of hostages, including eight American citizens, and for a cease-fire deal that “ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza.”

On Sunday, the family confirmed the news of Hersh’s death in a statement: “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.”