Mother of US Hostage Killed by Hamas Shares Painful Story In New Interview

The mother of an American hostage killed by Hamas has shared an emotional account of her family’s ordeal, saying the months her son was held captive were, in a tragic way, “the good part” because he was still alive.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin spoke in an interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday, recalling the 330 days her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, spent in captivity after being abducted during the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.

“To know that your child is being tortured, tormented, starved, abused… he’s maimed. And that’s an excruciating form of suffering,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said.

“And then what’s so fascinating to me is that when they came to tell us that Hersh had been executed, then I realized that those 330 days had been the good part, because he was alive,” she added. “And now I’m in this place, and this is the rest of my life. How do I walk through this place without a piece of me here?”

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was taken by Hamas militants from the Nova Music Festival, where hundreds were killed. About 1,200 people lost their lives in the attack.

During the assault, Hersh lost his left arm in a blast while hiding in a bunker. His friend, Aner Elyakim Shapira, died after trying to protect others by throwing grenades back at the attackers.

About a week after the attack, correspondent Anderson Cooper saw video of Hersh Goldberg-Polin being forced into a truck and taken into Gaza. He later shared the footage with the family.

“To this day, I am sorry that that is how you found out,” Cooper said during the interview.

“But we were so thankful,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin replied. “It made us know that he was taken alive.”

In the months that followed, the family campaigned tirelessly for his release. They gave interviews, met world leaders and joined other families in public appeals.

“There were times when I would just get seized with emotional and psychological and physical pain,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said. “And I would keel over onto Jon, and I would just say, ‘How much longer? How much longer? How much longer?”

In 2024, she stood near the Gaza border and called out to her son with a loudspeaker in hopes of reaching him. “Hers! Hersh! It’s mama!” she shouted.

That same day, he was killed. Hamas militants shot him six times on the 328th day of his captivity. His body was later found in a tunnel by Israeli soldiers.

“I wonder, did he hear me?” she said. “I think there are other ways that you can hear your parents screaming for you.”

At the end of the interview, she reflected on her efforts to save him. “Do you think you failed?” Anderson Cooper asked. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s true. And sometimes 100% is not enough.”