Current:Home > reviewsFastexy:Parents describe watching video of Hamas taking 23-year-old son hostage -Quantum Capital Pro
Fastexy:Parents describe watching video of Hamas taking 23-year-old son hostage
Charles H. Sloan View
Date:2025-04-10 04:22:04
The Fastexyfather of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who Hamas took hostage at the Supernova music festival in Israel, said he has gained some "strength" from seeing a video of his son on the day he was kidnapped.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin is a "curious," "laid-back person" who "loves learning about people and the world," his mother, Rachel Goldberg, said on ABC News' "Good Morning America" on Tuesday.
When Hamas terrorists stormed the music festival on Oct. 7, the 23-year-old hid with a group in a bomb shelter, his parents said. The militants opened fire and threw grenades, and Goldberg-Polin's arm was blown off, his parents said.
MORE: Israel-Gaza live updates: 'I've been through hell,' released hostage says
Witnesses later saw Goldberg-Polin leave the bomb shelter with his injuries and get loaded into the back of a Hamas pickup truck, his parents said. That moment was captured on video.
"No parent should ever be subjected to this sight," said his father, Jon Polin.
"That being said ... Knowing that he spent an hour to an hour and a half being subjected to this massacre, and that he then gets up with an arm freshly blown off, and walks on his own two feet, under his own strength, towards this truck, and uses his weak hand -- his only hand now -- to pull himself onto the truck while bloodied, but looking sort of composed," Polin said. "It gives me a sense of, he's got a perseverance and a fortitude that we hope carries him through this."
MORE: Delay in possible Israel ground assault provides troops with better prep: Experts
"We don't know if 10 minutes after that truck pulled away, if he bled out in the truck," Goldberg said. "Maybe he got to Gaza, had hospital treatment ... he could be alive. And that's what we're praying and hoping for."
"Many times a day you stop and say [to yourself], 'Did he die five days ago? Did he die this morning?'" Goldberg said. "We live in a parallel universe to other people now."
Goldberg said her mantra has become, "Stay strong, survive. Stay strong, survive."
At first, it was a message to her son, but she said now she realizes it's also a message to herself.
At least 222 hostages were taken by Hamas, the Israeli military said Monday. Four hostages have been released: two Americans on Friday and two Israelis on Monday.
Asked if he's satisfied with the efforts to free the hostages, Polin said, "We'll be satisfied when the hostages are freed."
"Until then, it's hard to say we're satisfied. That being said, we feel tremendous support from people around the world," he said.
MORE: 'Everything is destroyed': Dispatches from 21-year-old under siege in Gaza
Polin commended the Biden administration for their work and President Joe Biden himself for his empathy on a 90-minute call with families of hostages.
He said the president "listened and he cried" and has "been really supportive."
Polin said his message to leaders of the world is "we should all be screaming" for humanitarian aid in the short-term and for the hostages' release in the long-term.
"This is a global issue and it needs to be seen that way and it needs to stay on the agenda," he said.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- A record-setting 19 people are in orbit around Earth at the same time
- Smartmatic’s suit against Newsmax over 2020 election reporting appears headed for trial
- Shannon Sharpe apologizes for viral Instagram Live sex broadcast
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Maryland woman is charged with vandalizing property during protests over Netanyahu’s visit to DC
- McDonald's $5 Meal Deal staying on the menu in most markets until December
- Proposals to Build California’s First Carbon Storage Facilities Face a Key Test
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- North Carolina Gov. Cooper’s second-term environmental secretary is leaving the job
Ranking
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Colorado mass shooting survivor testifies the gunman repeated ‘This is fun’ during the attack
- Jon Bon Jovi helps woman in crisis off bridge ledge in Nashville
- Judge tosses some counts in Georgia election case against Trump and others
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Trump rules out another debate against Harris as her campaign announces $47M haul in hours afterward
- Prince William’s New Rough and Rugged Beard Takes the Crown
- Demi Lovato Has the Sweetest Reaction to Sister Madison De La Garza’s Pregnancy
Recommendation
'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
Ulta & Sephora 24-Hour Sales: 50% Off Benefit Brow Pencil Alix Earle & Scheana Shay Use & $7.50 Deals
Dolphins star Tyreek Hill says he 'can't watch' footage of 'traumatic' detainment
Alabama university ordered to pay millions in discrimination lawsuit
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
An 8-year-old boy who ran away from school is found dead in a neighborhood pond
Plants and flowers safe for cats: A full list
The Glossier Hot Cocoa Balm Dotcom Sold Every 5 Seconds Last Winter: Get Yours Before It Sells Out