Mother of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin shares details of his final days

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, along with five other hostages, was murdered by Hamas in August.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Rachel Goldberg, mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin, described his last days before being murdered by Hamas in a Rafah tunnel along with five others.

She spoke on Israel’s Independence Day at a reception for diplomatic staff stationed in Israel.

“My name is Rachel, and I will always be the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” she began.

Goldberg then described the harrowing conditions inflicted on her son and the other five murdered hostages: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino.

“The beautiful six, Eden, Ori, Elmog, Alex, Carmel, and Hersh, had been held in an airless pitch-black tunnel 20 meters underground. It was only a meter 60 in height and just 60 centimeters wide,” Goldberg continued.

“There was no electricity or plumbing. All of them were emaciated. Hersh, who was 1.85 meters tall, weighed 53 kilograms. Delightful Eden was 1.60 meters tall. She weighed just 35 kilograms. They were all bullet-ridden and filthy, having not showered in months,” she added.

“Hersh was shot in his only hand. His other hand had been blown off on October 7th during his abduction. He was shot in his shoulder, his neck, the side of his head below his ear, and in the back of his head,” the mother said.

“He was found frozen on his knees with his face resting on the face of Eden, Eden, a girl named after Paradise. And since then, we have lived in another galaxy,” Goldberg concluded.

Following an investigation, it was revealed that the hostages were likely murdered hours before the IDF found them in the tunnel, and there is also some indication that they fought back against their captors.

The tunnel was so narrow that they could barely stand up, and no more than two could lie down at a time.

There was also very little air, and the ventilation was so poor that many of the hostages likely had trouble breathing.

The tunnel had no toilets or showers, and the hostages had to use bottles of water to bathe themselves, which were also used for drinking.