Disturbing video footage has emerged of kidnapped Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin being shoved into the rear of a pickup truck shortly after his left arm was severed by Hamas militants. Goldberg-Polin and a group of young men were forcibly loaded into the back of a vehicle at gunpoint by Hamas terrorists following the deadly attack.
The disturbing footage captures their efforts to get into the truck, with Hersh displaying remarkable composure despite his calamitous injury. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was kidnapped by Hamas from the Supernova music festival in Israel. On Wednesday, his father said he gathered some "strength" from watching a video of his son on the day of the kidnapping.
Horrifying Image of Carnage
Hersh's father, Jon Polin, said that he and his wife currently "have no proof of life" for their son's well-being. As of now, the Israeli government still lists the young man as "a hostage held by Hamas."
In the video, Goldberg-Polin's injured left limb was visible as he pulled himself into the truck at around 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 7, at the Tribe of Nova music festival in southern Israel.
The video, first uncovered by CNN's Anderson Cooper's team, showed a group of Palestinian militants forcing three other young men into the same truck as Goldberg-Polin. The final person was thrown on top of the other three injured men.
Cooper verified with the parents of the missing young man that the video indeed featured Goldberg-Polin.
"As horrible as it is as a parent to [see] your kid under gunpoint, with one arm ... the composure with which he's walking on his own legs, pulling himself with his one weak hand onto the truck, gave me a real dose of strength," said Jon Polin, Hersh's father.
Rachel Goldberg, the mother of the young man, said that she believes that her son's composed demeanor was a result of shock.
His parents are unwavering in their resolve to reunite with their son even after more than two weeks since their son was abducted, along with over 200 other hostages. They flew to Manhattan this week to engage with the United Nations and discuss the efforts to bring their son and the other hostages back home.
"I personally feel like we have to keep running to the end of the Earth to save him,' his mother told Cooper.
"And we have to try to go [on] believing that somehow he got treatment and ... he's alive and he's there," she added.
Still Hopeful
The couple shared that they experience moments of uncertainty, during which they entertain distressing thoughts, such as the concern that their son may have bled out on that truck. "Maybe he died yesterday, maybe he died five minutes ago," said Goldberg.
"We don't know if once he was loaded into that pickup truck at 9:00 in the morning on October 7, if he was tossed off the truck after 30 seconds or if he made it into Gaza where his phone was last pinged. We don't know his status, but officially he's still listed as 'kidnapped,'" Polin said in a separate interview.
The couple has consistently called on international leaders to champion the cause of their son and the other hostages. Jon Polin noted that in the United States, there is existing support, but they are looking for more - they want concrete action.
He questioned why, with hostages from approximately 30 different countries, global leaders have not yet taken a more forceful stance to ensure that the wounded hostages receive assistance.
Rachel Goldberg likened their current emotional state to being perched on "the head of a pin", conveying the intense and delicate nature of their situation.
"Every direction you fall is a bad direction. So we're just trying to balance on the head of a pin," she said.
On the morning of October 7, Goldberg-Polin sent a text message to his mother and father that simply read, "I love you, I'm sorry."
Hersh, who was born in Berkeley, California, relocated to Jerusalem with his family at the age of eight.
He had been attending the Tribe of Nova music festival to celebrate the conclusion of his service in the Israeli Army. Until April, he had served as a tank driver in the 7th Armored Brigade and had received training to become a medic.
His father, Jonathan, and his mother, Rachel, revealed that their son had been employed as a waiter and was in the process of saving money to fulfill his lifelong dream of traveling to India.
Despite the challenging circumstances, his mother remains hopeful that her son will return home and, in her words, still have the opportunity to take the trip to India, even if it means doing so with just one hand.
