Tuesday marked the grim Hebrew anniversary of the execution of six Israeli hostages – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, and Alexander Lobanov – by Hamas terrorists in a tunnel in Gaza. Memorial services were held throughout Israel in their memory, attended by many who came to strengthen the families who lost their loved ones kidnapped by Hamas in the deadly attack on Israel on October 7.
During the Jerusalem service held for Hersh, his father, Jon, said in his son's memory, "A few weeks ago, I was walking with Libby [his daughter] here in Jerusalem. A nice man I didn't know approached me and asked me, 'Hersh's father, can I show you something?' I immediately agreed, and he showed me his phone with his screensaver showing you, Hersh. He told me that 'every morning I take out my phone and the first thing I see is Hersh.' I looked at him and asked myself what I could do today to make the world better, to be a better person. Hersh, what a glorious legacy you left."
Rachel, Hersh's mother, added, "Sometimes I look deep into my own eyes. I force myself to open them, against my will, and then I can hear you. I know you're here, inside," she said while placing her hand on her chest. "Even though I can't see you with my eyes that are actually yours, that are mine, I know it. Like two great oceans that I can't always see, but undoubtedly they're there. I know it's there even without seeing it. You are inside me, and here, in my heart."
Hersh, who was at the Nova Festival in Re'im on October 7, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the "death shelter" after his hand was severed due to the heavy attack on the shelter. At the end of August last year, Hersh was murdered by the terrorists along with Carmel Gat, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lobanov, and Almog Sarusi, who were also murdered in the same incident.
Alexander Lobanov's family held a memorial ceremony in Ashkelon. His widow, Michal Lobanov, vowed, "We will continue to make Alex's voice heard everywhere, and that of the five additional hostages who were murdered with him. The most important thing is that we have 50 hostages in Gaza, and let's fight for them until they all return."
Eden Yerushalmi's family conducted a memorial at Yarkon Cemetery in Petach Tikva. Her sister May eulogized her, declaring, "The responsibility to explain who you were is beyond our capability. You are beyond words; you are a ray of light that bursts with infinite energy. I miss you."
Her mother, Shirit, said: "My Eden, a year has passed and I still don't grasp that you're not here. There's no day I don't think about you and the path you went through and how you loved life. I miss everything, especially the way you said 'mama.' You weren't just my daughter but also my friend. You were long months under harsh conditions in captivity and didn't break. Your courage echoes, but in the end, they took you from us. For me, the world stopped. You're so missed, Eden. I will never forget what you said when you were kidnapped, 'Find me.' Eden is not just a story of October 7 but of life and joy. Rest in peace, my hero."
Eden, age 24, from Tel Aviv, was kidnapped from the Nova Festival, where she worked as a bartender. After being kidnapped by Hamas, she survived 11 months in captivity under harsh conditions, including starvation. On August 29, 2024, Eden was brutally murdered along with five other hostages in cold blood in a tunnel in Rafah. Two days later, her body was extracted and returned to Israel, weighing only 36 kilograms (79 pounds), which demonstrates the starvation she endured in captivity.
When the attack on the festival began on Saturday morning, Eden called at 7:20 a.m. to her mother, Shirit, and screamed, "They're shooting at us." Her sister Shani took command, and for four hours, while Eden was fleeing, the two remained on the phone. Shani told Israel Hayom in an interview, "I heard everything, the shots, the screams, the calls 'Allahu Akbar,' the panting from fear and Eden's whispers." She also said, "I managed to keep her on the line for four hours, to keep her calm. She was very scared. After an hour and a half, the call was cut because her battery died, so she took a phone from a friend who had been killed, and we continued talking. At a certain point, she said she was wounded because her whole arm was full of blood. I asked her to look for wounds, and she didn't find any. It was a friend's blood. There was a stage where she only whispered because she was hiding, and then she played dead."
In recordings that the family later released, Eden is heard saying to her sister, "Shani, they caught me, they caught me," and also her painful request, "Find me. Okay?"
The remains of the six hostages were found by the IDF during operational activity in the Gaza Strip. The announcement triggered widespread media coverage globally, with outlets reporting extensively on the brutal murders.
