Parents of murdered American-Israeli hostage praise Trump, plead for urgency in bringing hostages home
The parents of a murdered American-Israeli hostage pleaded for President Donald Trump to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, after Hamas released three frail-looking Israeli hostages over the weekend.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was murdered by Hamas in August after nearly a year in captivity, said that they were grateful to President Trump and U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
"President Trump and Mr. Witkoff are the most professional virtuoso dealmakers that could be handling this situation. All of the people that we talk to feel grateful that they are the ones involved," Rachel Goldberg-Polin said on Monday's "America's Newsroom."
"That's why our plea on Instagram Saturday night, after we saw the release of these emaciated, Holocaust-looking hostages, we said, we have to expedite this deal. This deal is currently written to stretch over the coming months. It's clear that these hostages don't have time," she urged.
Over the weekend, Hamas released Israeli civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34, in exchange for 183 freed Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal reached with Israel.
It was the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners since the current Israel-Hamas ceasefire began on Jan. 19.
The hostages' frail condition sparked outrage and calls for swift action to bring the remaining 76 hostages home as soon as possible.
"If these are the hostages coming out, it means the ones that have not yet been released are in even worse condition," Goldberg-Polin continued as she pleaded with Trump and Witkoff to figure out how to bring the hostages home quicker.
Jon Polin added that their son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and five other hostages murdered by Hamas, were also found malnourished and "skeletal" when Israeli troops discovered their bodies last August.
While he said their call to world leaders at the time of their son's death, "didn't work," he was confident that Trump and Witkoff were heading in the right direction, as he repeated his wife's plea for speedy action.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin told the remaining survivors to not give up hope because their families were "working day and night" to bring them home.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists last August shortly before Israeli troops reached the tunnel where they were being held in southern Gaza. Israeli troops recovered the six bodies from the tunnel, and Israeli forensic experts said they had been shot at close range after surviving nearly a year in captivity.
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