Hamas released a video Wednesday appearing to show one of its Israeli hostages delivering an address in captivity. In the video, a man identifies himself as Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin before delivering a long statement clearly crafted by Hamas, which has long been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel.
The video may give the young man’s family hope, however, as the message he conveys includes a reference to his 200 days in captivity — which suggests it was either filmed on or to mark April 24, exactly 200 days since Hamas launched its attack. CBS News cannot verify the date of filming or the contents of the video released by Hamas’ armed Al-Qassam Brigades, but it was posted on the same social media channel used regularly by the group to publish propaganda videos, including others showing hostages.
A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News the White House received the video on Monday, and said the White House has been in touch with the Goldberg-Polin family since it was received. The family also received a copy of the video directly, the official said.
The official noted this is the first time Hamas has publicly released a video of a U.S. citizen hostage.
“I wasn’t even really listening to what he was saying, I was just hearing his voice,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh’s mother, told CBS News in an interview Thursday about the video. “I haven’t heard his voice in six months. He’s clearly medically compromised and medically fragile.”
Goldberg-Polin said the last time she heard from her son was in a text message saying, “I love you,” as he was being taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7.
“I don’t know if he hears it or if he feels it or if he knows it, but I am ordering him to survive,” she said. “So many people were so emotional because they really have not thought he was alive.”
A statement released Wednesday by the Hostage Families Forum, which represents the families of those still held in Gaza, said Goldberg-Polin’s parents wanted the message he was delivering to get out, and the group did not question the video’s authenticity.
“Hersh’s cry is the collective cry of all the hostages — their time is rapidly running out. With each passing day, the fear of losing more innocent lives grows stronger. We cannot afford to waste any more time; the hostages must be the top priority,” the group said in its statement.
There had been no clear indication from Hamas that Goldberg-Polin, now 24, was still alive. He was seriously injured when militants rampaged through the music festival he was attending near the Gaza border during Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.”
In the video, Goldberg-Polin shows that he is missing his left hand, and there are some marks visible on his head and face, but he speaks clearly in Hebrew and appears otherwise thin but healthy. The video includes English subtitles, which CBS News has verified as accurate.
“Hersh and I are both left-handed,” his mother old CBS News. “Now he’s not left-handed anymore. It was truly just an overwhelming moment.”
The statement he delivers, clearly under duress in Hamas captivity, includes a litany of insults and admonishments for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to secure a deal for the remaining hostages’ release.
There are believed to be about 130 people still held in Gaza, of the roughly 240 initially taken hostage by Hamas.
It is not clear how many of the…
Read More: Hamas releases video of injured Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin