The remaining 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza arrived home in Israel on Monday, after more than two years in captivity. Hamas said it would return four bodies of deceased hostages Monday, but has not indicated when 24 other bodies will be transferred.
Shortly after the release of those living hostages, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American hostage whose body was recovered in August 2024 from inside a Hamas tunnel, appeared on “Morning Joe” to talk about the first phase of the historic peace deal.
Goldberg-Polin told co-host Jonathan Lemire that for the families of the living hostages, “this is certainly a day of relief and joy and gratitude.” But she also cautioned viewers not to “forget that we also have to get back all” of the hostages, living and dead, and said that “until all 48 are back, we’re not done.”
Polin added: “I’ll say it’s a wonderful accomplishment getting these — hopefully, all 48 — home, and ending this war, bringing some calm to the region. … I’m hopeful that this is the catalyst for still something even bigger and better for all of us in the region. We’ve known too many cycles for too long, of war and violence and blame, and we and so many others in the region have paid a heavy price. Let’s make today the beginning of the fix and the beginning of being able to move forward to something better.”
The pair, who have advocated on behalf of the hostages and their families since Hamas’ attack Oct. 7, 2023, shared memories of their son with the “Morning Joe” panel. Goldberg-Polin described the 23-year-old as a “very curious citizen of the world who was a gifted listener.”
“Hersh was our, and will always be, our eldest child, our only son,” she said, adding: “We feel that we were very blessed to have this beautiful ray of warm light in our lives. And we still feel that we have to figure out and teach ourselves how to feel him in different ways now that he’s not here in the tangible, touchable way that we all interact with our loved ones.”
Polin said part of what has helped him deal with the pain of his son’s loss is hearing the impact that the 23-year-old’s story has had on others. “Two months ago, my daughter and I were walking down the street in Jerusalem, and a man that I didn’t know stopped me and said, ‘Hersh’s dad. I want to show you something.’ And he pulls out his phone and shows me that his screensaver, his wallpaper, is a picture of Hersh,” he shared. Polin said the man told him that every morning, he looks at that picture on his phone and asks himself: “‘What can I do today to be a better person? And how can I make this world better?’” “And if nothing else, if that one person alone has that takeaway, that’s a great, great legacy,” he added. “And if there are others, even better. But Hersh would love — he does love — knowing that at least one person has had that kind of takeaway from Hersh’s goodness in the world.” You can watch the full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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