Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Courtesy Rachel Goldberg via AP)
The brother of Staff Sgt. Yuval Shoham, 22, killed yesterday in Gaza, says the fallen soldier knew murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin and looked for him while serving in the Strip.
“The concept of bringing back the hostages was in his heart,” Shahar Shoham tells Ynet. “He knew Hersh Goldberg-Polin personally and the fact that he was there [in Gaza] connected him even more. He went around Gaza looking for him and shouting ‘Hersh.'”
The Shoham and Goldberg-Polin families were friends and members of the same community in Jerusalem.
Shahar says that yesterday his parents had traveled south from their Jerusalem home with a package for Yuval, but when they arrived at his base they were met by officers who informed them of his death. The army announced the circumstances of his death earlier today, saying he was killed in an accident during fighting in the Jabalia area.
Goldberg-Polin was taken hostage from the Nova festival on October 7. He was killed by his captors alongside Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi in a tunnel in Rafah on August 29.
Staff Sgt. Yuval Shoham, killed in the northern Gaza Strip on December 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
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