US President Joe Biden said he was “shocked and angered” by the recovery of the bodies of six hostages, including an Israeli-American, from the Gaza Strip.
Describing the developments as “tragic” and “reprehensible,” Biden on August 31 categorically warned that “Hamas leaders will pay a price for these crimes” and vowed to continue working round the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by the Palestinian group.
The US President said the Israeli military on Saturday recovered the bodies of six people held hostage by Hamas in a tunnel beneath the city of Rafah.
“We have now confirmed that one of the hostages killed by these vicious Hamas terrorists was an American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told the Times of Israel that six hostages recovered from Rafah in southern Gaza were “brutally murdered” by Hamas shortly before IDF troops arrived.
“It’s time for this war to end,” Biden said, speaking to reporters after leaving a church in Delaware. “We must end this war.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement that Hamas “must be destroyed” and cannot be allowed to take control of Gaza.
Harris offered her condolences to John and Rachel, the parents of Goldberg-Pollin, a 23-year-old American citizen, and said, “I have no higher priority than the safety of American citizens, wherever they are in the world. President Biden and I will never waver in our commitment to freeing the Americans and all those held hostage in Gaza.”
In a statement delivered at the White House, she said, “Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these killings, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’s continued brutality, and the entire world should condemn it as well. From the massacre of 1,200 people to sexual violence, hostage-taking, and these killings, Hamas’s evil is clear and horrifying.”
Goldberg Polin was taken hostage while trying to escape terrorists who infiltrated the Nova music festival and lost her arm in a grenade explosion during the October 7 attacks.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement that “the heart of the entire nation has been crushed to pieces.” He said the killing of the hostages “proves Hamas’s readiness to commit crimes against humanity.” He said the country’s “sacred goal” is to bring them back home.
According to reports, following Hamas attacks on October 7, Israel launched a war against the Palestinian group, leaving more than 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
