Chicago man taken in Oct. 7 Hamas attack seen in new images

A Chicago man injured and abducted in the attack on a music festival in Israel last October is confirmed to be alive, according to new images released by Hamas shown by multiple media outlets, including CNN.

The video was the first sign of life of Hersh Goldberg-Polin since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. It’s not clear when the video was taken.

In it, Goldberg-Polin accused Israel’s government of abandoning the people who are being held hostage by Hamas. He also claimed that some 70 captives have been killed in Israel’s bombing campaign. Goldberg-Polin was clearly speaking under duress, and the claim could not be independently verified.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was last seen on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants loaded him into the back of a pickup with other hostages abducted from the the Tribe of Nova where at least 260 people were killed.

Though there was no date on the new video, Goldberg-Polin appeared to reference the weeklong Jewish holiday of Passover. Passover began Monday.

“Seeing a video of Hersh today is overwhelming,” Goldberg-Polin’s father, John Goldberg, said in a video released on social media. “We’re relieved to see him alive but we are also concerned about his health and wellbeing, as well as all of the other hostages and all of those suffering in this region.”

Witnesses said Goldberg-Polin lost part of an arm when the attackers tossed grenades into a temporary shelter where people had taken refuge, but he tied a tourniquet around it and walked out of the shelter before being bundled into the truck.

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Hostages’ families have accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of not doing enough to secure the release of their relatives.

Goldberg-Polin’s aunt still lives in Chicago.

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