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‘Hamas Leaders Will Pay for These Crimes,’ Biden Vows, After Goldberg-Polin’s Body Identified
US President Joe Biden speaks at a Detroit Branch NAACP annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner in Detroit, Michigan, US, May 19, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
JNS.org – US President Joe Biden stated shortly before midnight on Saturday night that he is “devastated and outraged” after the US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin was identified among six bodies that Israeli forces recovered earlier in the day in a tunnel in Rafah.
Biden vowed that “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes,” but then said that the United States “will keep working around the clock” to secure a deal—which would be between the Jewish state and the Hamas terror organization—to release the rest of the hostages.
“Hersh was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on Oct. 7. He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’s savage massacre. He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world,” Biden stated. “I have gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. They have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable.”
Goldberg-Polin’s parents have been “relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions,” the president added. “I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express. I know all Americans tonight will have them in their prayers, just as Jill and I will.”
Biden called Goldberg-Polin’s death “as tragic as it is reprehensible.”
“Our hearts break after receiving the devastating news of the hostages’ bodies being found in Hamas tunnels,” stated Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. “Our thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones. The terrorist monsters who murdered innocent hostages deserve nothing less than death.”
Goldberg-Polin is “an American hero, who will be remembered for his kindness and selflessness. Our hearts break for Jon, Rachel and their entire family, as well as the other families who found out today their loved ones won’t be coming home. May their memory be a blessing,” stated US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is Jewish.
“The killing of these hostages only further confirms Hamas’s depravity. It should release all the hostages immediately,” Blinken said. “We will continue to work with our partners in the region to secure an agreement without delay that frees the remaining hostages.”
“Hamas murdered Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli hostage, kidnapped from a music festival for peace on Oct. 7,” stated the Republican Jewish Coalition. “Israel’s fight against these barbaric terrorists is America’s fight.”
Neither the Harris nor Trump campaign had commented by press time. Shortly after this article was published, US Vice President Kamala Harris said of Goldberg-Polin that “we now know he was murdered by Hamas.”
“Doug and my prayers are with Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh’s parents, and with everyone who knew and loved Hersh. When I met with Jon and Rachel earlier this year, I told them: ‘You are not alone,’” Harris stated. “That remains true as they mourn this terrible loss. Americans and people around the world will pray for Jon, Rachel and their family and send them love and strength. As is said in the Jewish tradition, may Hersh’s memory be a blessing.”
“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’s continued brutality, and so must the entire world,” Harris said. “From its massacre of 1,200 people to sexual violence, taking of hostages and these murders, Hamas’s depravity is evident and horrifying.”
“The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel—and American citizens in Israel—must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza,” Harris said. She added that “the Palestinian people too have suffered under Hamas’s rule for nearly two decades.”
“As vice president, I have no higher priority than the safety of American citizens, wherever they are in the world,” she said. “President Biden and I will never waver in our commitment to free the Americans and all those held hostage in Gaza.”
Members of Congress also commented on Goldberg-Polin.
“I am absolutely heartbroken by the deaths of several hostages held by Hamas, including US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” stated Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “These innocent people should all be home today with their families; instead they were murdered by terrorists. My heart is with all of the bereaved families, including the Goldberg-Polin family, who I met earlier this summer.”
“For 331 days we prayed for Hersh’s safe return. Today we learned he was murdered in Gaza. May his memory be a blessing,” stated Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), who is Jewish.
“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.” pic.twitter.com/sof97ktOf2
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) September 1, 2024
The post ‘Hamas Leaders Will Pay for These Crimes,’ Biden Vows, After Goldberg-Polin’s Body Identified first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.