Bodies Israeli officials said Sunday that five participants in the Supernova festival, which Hamas attacked on Oct. 7 and sparked the war between Israel and Hamas, were found dead Saturday, the Associated Press reported. The body of a sixth hostage was also found. The news sparked protests across Israel on Sunday.
Among those killed were Israeli-American Hirsch Goldberg Bolin, 23, who attended the festival; Eden Yerushalmi, 24, who was a bartender at the event; Alexander Lobanov, 33, who worked as a bar manager during the festival; Almog Sarousi, 27, who attended the festival with his girlfriend, who was killed in the attack; and Uri Danino, 25, who was kidnapped as he returned by car to help others escape. Also killed was Carmel Gat, 40. Gat had been kidnapped from a nearby community after gunmen broke into her parents’ home where she was staying and abducted her on the day of the festival; her parents were killed in the attack.
The Israeli military said Israeli forces were working to rescue the hostages, but Hamas killed them and their bodies were found in an underground tunnel in the Gaza city of Rafah. The hostages were killed “shortly before IDF forces reached them,” Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said (via Axios).
News of the hostages' deaths sparked protests in Israel, with tens of thousands taking to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities on Sunday, demanding the release of the remaining hostages. Protesters accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to secure a ceasefire to rescue the remaining hostages.
Meanwhile, Israel's largest labor union, the Histadrut, has called for a nationwide general strike beginning Monday to demand a deal to release the hostages.
In a statement, President Joe Biden expressed his deep sorrow over the death of Goldberg Polin, a US citizen of Israeli descent. “I am deeply saddened and outraged,” Biden said. “Hirsch was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on October 7. He lost his arm while helping friends and strangers during the brutal massacre perpetrated by Hamas. He had just turned 23. He was planning to travel the world.”
Goldberg Bolin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg Bolin and John Bolin, began calling for the release of the hostages days after the festival massacre. Their emotional plea was one of the most moving moments of last month’s Democratic National Convention, in which they called for the release of the hostages, including eight American citizens, and for a ceasefire “that would end the suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza.”
On Sunday, the family confirmed Hirsch's death in a statement: “With broken hearts, the Goldberg Pauline family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of their beloved son and brother Hirsch. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time.”
