The young Israeli-American who was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during their massacre at a desert party had his arm blown off during the shootout, his mother revealed Tuesday, and he even had to make his own tourniquet to save his life.
“Unfortunately, what we heard about Hersh [from eyewitnesses] “It’s just that they blew his arm off from the elbow down,” Rachel Goldberg told CNN about the last known whereabouts of her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
“He put a tourniquet on his arm.”
Goldberg-Polin, who just turned 23 last week, was attending an outdoor concert in the northern Negev on Saturday when Hamas terrorists burst in and began shooting at innocent partygoers.
Goldberg-Polin and other revelers were forced into a bomb shelter while militants lobbed grenades and gunfire at them, Rachel said.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was taken hostage by Hamas on Saturday.
“Hersh and his good friend were trying to throw grenades from the bomb shelter,” the desperate mother said of the witness information.
A young woman who found herself next to Goldberg-Polin in the bomb shelter later told her parents that the Berkeley, California, native comforted her during the ordeal.
When the gunfire subsided and the attackers demanded that anyone who could walk follow them outside, the woman played dead, but Goldberg-Polin was “very calm” and followed the captors, her parents added.
While Goldberg-Polin’s family, which includes two younger sisters, fears the worst as the death toll rises, they are also hopeful they will soon receive news of her whereabouts.
The abandoned outdoor party venue with debris scattered after the Hamas attack. AFP via Getty Images
“I truly feel that the American government and President Biden… are working tirelessly… to ensure that these American civilians who are being held hostage are released. [and] Be careful,” Rachel told CNN.
“[And that they] “I can see to it that this seriously injured American civilian is taken care of,” he added.
The Goldberg-Polin family’s update came shortly after chilling images emerged of Hamas terrorists storming the musical celebration early Saturday morning, ultimately leaving 260 people dead in their wake.
Some 260 people were massacred at the open-air festival, Israeli officials said. AFP via Getty Images
When the violence broke out, Goldberg-Polin texted her parents “I love you” and “I’m sorry” before becoming unreachable, her family previously said.
Goldberg-Polin was celebrating his birthday and his release from mandatory military service, which ended in April, his father, Jon Polin, told the Jerusalem Post.
In the months since his discharge, the young man had been working as a waiter and doctor to save for a trip to India, Jon told the outlet.
Goldberg-Polin was celebrating his birthday and the end of his military service. family brochure
Goldberg-Polin, who is Jewish, made aliyah (or immigrated to Israel) with his family in 2008.
Before moving to Jerusalem, the family lived in Richmond, Virginia.
As of Tuesday, the death toll in Israel had reached 900, with another 2,800 injured and at least 500 still hospitalized.
Hersh and his friend took refuge in a bomb shelter, only to be bombarded with grenades and gunfire by Hamas militants. AFP via Getty Images
The timing of the Hamas surprise attack coincided with both Simchat Torah – an important Jewish holiday that marks the completion of the cycle of Torah readings – and the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn