Hersh Goldberg-Polin, One Of 6 Hostages Killed By Hamas, Worked At North GA Camp

GEORGIA — One of the six people killed last week and whose body was recently recovered in a tunnel in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war, was a Jewish summer camp counselor from Georgia, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

President Joe Biden on Saturday said the bodies of the six hostages were found in a tunnel under Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. He identified the slain American citizen as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who was reportedly born in Berkeley, California. Camp officials and others said Goldberg-Polin worked at a camp in North Georgia.

The bodies of Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American, and the five others discovered showed they had been shot at close range, Israeli forensics experts said. The hostages died on Thursday or Friday, shortly before Israeli troops reached the tunnel where they were held, according to the Associated Press.

Biden's office said Goldberg-Polin was "attending a music festival for peace" nearly 11 months ago in Israel at the time of an attack. This is when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its first attack on Israel, reportedly killing 1,200 people and taking hostage 250 others.

The remaining five hostages killed during the Oct. 7 attack were identified as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt. Ori Danino, NBC News reported.

While assisting friends, Biden said Goldberg-Polin lost his arm "during Hamas' savage massacre."

"He planned to travel the world. I have gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. They have been courageous, wise and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable. They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions," Biden said in a news release.

Gov. Brian Kemp on Sunday called the deaths of the hostages devastating. He said he is praying for the Goldberg-Polin family.

Ramah Darom, a religious organization in Clayton, posted on Monday a tribute to Goldberg-Polin on Facebook.

"There are no words to express the heartbreak we are all feeling. Hersh, his parents Jon and Rachel, his sisters and many members of his extended family were longtime Ramah Darom Passover participants. The hope we were holding onto, the raw emotion and the tireless persistence of Rachel and Jon to keep Hersh and the hostages top of mind, make this news even more gut wrenching. We grieve along with the entire Goldberg-Polin family. May Hersh’s memory forever be a blessing, and may his family know no more sorrow. Baruch Dayan Ha’emet."

Biden's statement said he admired the Goldberg-Polin family and grieves with the paretns.

"I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them and am heartbroken by the news of his death. It is as tragic as it is reprehensible," the president said. "Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages."

Attorney General Chris Carr, in tweeting his sentiments Sunday, called the killing of Goldberg-Polin "senseless and tragic." He noted Goldberg-Polin was a counselor for an annual Passover program in north Georgia, adding an exhibit in Goldberg-Polin's honor was installed at Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta.

"May God comfort his parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, his sisters and all those who knew and loved him," Carr tweeted. "I will continue to proudly stand with and support Israel as it rightly defends itself from Hamas and all who wish to see it eradicated."

A funeral was held Monday for Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem, where his mother remembered him as her "sweet boy" who was "finally free," the Associated Press reported.

Vice President Kamala Harris recalled in a news release meeting with Goldberg-Polin's parents earlier this year, reassuring them they were not alone.

"That remains true as they mourn this terrible loss," Harris said in the release. "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."