Hersh, Carmel, Alex, Eden, Or, Almog: The 6 hostages murdered by Hamas just days ago
Goldberg-Polin’s family has ‘broken hearts’; Gat did yoga with hostage children; Lobanov never met his child; Yerushalmi’s sisters heard her being kidnapped; Danino turned car around to rescue others; Sarusi’s girlfriend was also murdered
The bodies of six hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 were recovered overnight from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah, shortly after they were murdered by terrorists, the Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday.
All six had been kidnapped alive to the Strip.
The hostages were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27.
Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi, Lobanov, Sarusi and Danino (an off-duty noncommissioned officer) were abducted from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im.
Gat was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin
The night before 23-year-old Israeli-US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova desert rave, he ate dinner with his family and then left at 11 p.m. to go camping.
His mother, Rachel Goldberg, last heard from Hersh early in the morning on October 7, when her son sent two WhatsApp messages, one telling his parents he loved them, the other saying, “I’m sorry.”
After speaking to several of Hersh’s close friends, they were able to figure out that Hersh and his best friend, Aner Shapira, went to the rave.
The two were last seen at a crowded field shelter, filled with people who tried to escape from the Hamas attack on the party on the morning of October 7.
Goldberg-Polin’s arm was blown off from the elbow as Hamas terrorists lobbed grenades into the shelter. Shapira threw at least half a dozen grenades back out of the shelter before he was killed.
Goldberg-Polin was seen alive in a video released by terrorists in April.
His parents had campaigned prominently for his release, frequently meeting with US President Joe Biden and other officials.
In a brief statement, Goldberg-Polin’s family said that they had “broken hearts.”
Carmel Gat
Carmel Gat, 40, an occupational therapist from Tel Aviv, was visiting her parents in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked, killing her mother, Kinneret. Gat was taken captive, as was her brother Alon, sister-in-law Yarden Roman-Gat, and niece Geffen, who were also visiting.
Alon and his three-year-old daughter, Geffen, were able to escape their captors on October 7 and remained free. His wife Yarden, 36, also initially escaped but was recaptured. She was held hostage in Gaza and released on November 29 during a temporary ceasefire.
With the release of dozens of hostages, the family received word that Carmel was alive and had been kept captive with some children and did yoga once a day with them.
Alex Lobanov
Alex Lobanov, 32, was the head barman at the Nova party.
At the time of the attack, his wife Michal was five months pregnant. She has since given birth. The couple also has a two-year-old.
The young family lives in Ashkelon, where Alex cared for his parents, who both have physical disabilities.
“He’s the guy who worries about everyone else,” wrote a friend.
Eden Yerushalmi
Eden Yerushalmi, 24, a bartender from Tel Aviv, had gone to the Nova party with a group of friends.
When the terrorists attacked the rave, she called her older sister, Shani, who stayed on the phone with her for hours, along with their younger sister, May.
They were on the line with Yerushalmi when she hid in a car with friends who had been murdered, pretending to be dead. They stayed on the line when she went to hide in thorny bushes. They reminded her to breathe.
For four hours, the three sisters were on the phone together, until they heard gunshots and Yerushalmi cried, “Shani, they caught me!” After that, the phone went dead.
Or Danino
Master Sgt. Ori Danino, 25, an off-duty noncommissioned officer who attended the Nova rave, initially escaped the attack but went back to try and save others.
Danino and a friend left the party in separate vehicles, filling the cars with as many people as possible to help them escape the Hamas killing spree.
At one point, Danino asked his friend for the phone number of people they had just met at the party, telling him that he was going to go back to rescue them — siblings Itay Regev and Maya Regev, and Omer Shem-Tov.
That was the last time Danino’s friend heard from him.
Danino is from an ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem. He was engaged to be married to Liel.
His brother said on Sunday: “I’m sorry I couldn’t do everything.”
Danino served as a signals officer in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion.
Almog Sarusi
Almog Sarusi, 27, was at the Nova party with his girlfriend, Shahar Gindi, a psychology student at Ariel University. Shahar’s body was later found.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, Sarusi had stayed to try and help Shahar after she was injured, at which point he was kidnapped.
He loved to travel round the country with his guitar. “A guy full of life and light,” the outlet said.
