As hostages lit Hanukkah candles in tunnel, Hersh likened their situation to Jews in Nazi Germany

Newly released footage shows six Israeli hostages lighting Hanukkah candles before their murder in captivity, with Hersh Goldberg-Polin likening their situation to that of the Jews living in Nazi Germany.

“There’s that picture of the Hanukkiah with a [Nazi flag] above it,” Goldberg-Polin is heard reflecting in one of the clips aired on Channel 12’s “Uvda.”

Later on in the clip, one of the hostages is heard joking, “Where are the sufganiyot?”

Hersh responds, “We’re waiting for Roladin in Israel,” referring to the bakery known for making fancy donuts during the Hanukkah season.

Another clip shows the six hostages marking New Year’s Eve 2024 and sometimes eating a piece of fruit, as their captors attempted to show a different reality of their captivity.

The six, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27, were killed by their captors in a tunnel in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood on August 29, 2024, and were discovered by troops two days later.

The video footage shows each of the hostages, thin but still vital, some smiling at the camera, including Goldberg-Polin, who was missing the lower half of his left arm, which was blown off by a grenade on October 7.

The family members of each hostage are interviewed in the “Uvda” episode and reflect on how intense it feels to see their loved one.

“It’s very confusing, it feels like he’s right there,” says Rachel Goldberg. “And it was hours of footage.”

Almog Sarusi’s father comments on how his son is always smiling in the footage.

During the war, the IDF, upon finding footage or other findings of hostages in Gaza, presented it to their families, who often released it to the public.

The six hostages sit together after the candle lighting, in which they used paper cups for the Hanukkiah, playing some card games while sitting on mattresses.

The Hanukkah footage appears to be after 80 days of captivity.

“What heroes,” says Goldberg-Polin. “Six young luminous people who did everything right and they stayed alive and they did their part, and for us to claim we brought them back, in bags, bags of children to their parents, please don’t count Hersh among the people you saved.”