Dozens of families of hostages still being held captive by Hamas since Oct. 7 demonstrated at the Gaza border on Thursday, shouting through loudspeakers in the hope that their loved ones would hear. Some broke through a fence near the border and ran toward the Strip.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hersch Goldberb-Polin, 23, shouted, “This is mom, Hersch. This is the 328th day. We’re all here. All the families of 107 abductees who remain in captivity,” Ynet reported.
“Hersch, we work day and night, and we will never stop. I need you to know that I bless you every morning and every Friday evening, and I raise my hands toward Gaza, and I give you the blessing, ‘May God bless you and keep you,’” she said.
His father, Jon, said, “Hersh, this is dad. We need you to know, and all 107 abductees need to know that not only the families here today, and not only 9 million people in this country, but the whole world—we will not stop until you all come home soon.”
Hamas footage of Hersh from Oct. 7 shows him with one arm missing at the elbow. He suffered the wound tossing back a grenade thrown by terrorists into a shelter where he and others were hiding.
His best friend, Aner Shapira, had thrown back seven grenades before being killed.
Shira Elbag, mother of the abducted soldier Liri Elbag, 19, said, “We are on the 327th day of this war; 327 days and nights of hearing Liri cry for help, calling ‘Mom,’ and me not being able to come. Can you imagine that feeling, knowing your child is suffering and you’re powerless to help?”
Hagit Chen, whose son Itay’s body is being held in Gaza, said, “My Itay, I miss you so much and can’t fathom the situation we find ourselves in. When you decided to join the army and become a fighter, I didn’t foresee the dreadful state it would bring us to.
“You said, ‘Mom, don’t worry,’ you believed in the system. I wanted you to come home and fulfill your dreams. What did you manage to achieve in this life? I ache for your absence in ways I never knew were possible,” she said, according to Ynet.
Itay’s father, Rubi, added: “We, the parents, after seeing the current round of talks ending without result, are compelled to wage a battle and embark on a journey to Gaza, to remind the Israeli government to fulfill its moral, ethical and Jewish duty, so we can bring our Itay to burial in Israel.”
The hostages’ families arrived at the border on Wednesday as part of a convoy of over 300 vehicles that traveled from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv to Kibbutz Be’eri on the Gaza border to protest the lack of movement in ceasefire talks. They hold the Netanyahu government responsible for that failure.
Titled the “End the Abandonment” convoy, it featured cars adorned with yellow flags, pictures of the hostages, and burned-out cars on trailers, which had been destroyed in the Oct. 7 attack.
“Every day that passes is another lost opportunity to bring them home; it’s time to end the abandonment,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which organized the event.
Hamas killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7 and kidnapped 250 others, dragging them to Gaza. An estimated 107 are still being held in captivity following the rescue of Bedouin captive Kaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, on Tuesday.
