Families of American hostages demand deal to bring them home as ‘outraged’ Biden vows Hamas will pay

Washington mourns hostages but offers no clear path to reaching deal for return of last captives — or concrete reason for delays

Families of seven American hostages still being held captive by Hamas demanded that the White House and Israeli government reach a deal with Hamas on Sunday as Washington was rocked by the news of the death of a California man held by the militants.

President Joe Biden issued a lengthy statement overnight Saturday expressing his “outrage” and vowing that Hamas would “pay” for the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, even as the US seems no closer to reaching a ceasefire deal that officials have said is close at hand for months.

“I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them and am heartbroken by the news of his death,” Biden said of Goldberg-Polin’s parents Jon and Rachel, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention last month.

“Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”

Biden’s statement was not likely to raise the spirits of the remaining hostage families. It did not mention a possible deal to secure the release of the last seven US hostages until the final sentence – and only after the president vowed justice and/or revenge for Goldberg-Polin’s death.

“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world,” added Harris, his VP and former running mate, in her own statement.

This undated photo shows Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza

Biden has spoken with Goldberg-Polin’s family and his national security adviser Jake Sullivan is due to speak with the other hostage families in the days ahead.

But, relatives of the seven US hostages still in captivity are not buying the messages coming out of the White House and State Department – the latter of which has steadfastly denied for months that Israeli officials are holding up a deal from being reached. Even so, Israeli media continues to publicly speculate that such is the case, and Biden himself said that there was “every reason” for people to believe so earlier this year.

“The tragic murder of Hersh, just months after we all saw his face in a hostage video released by Hamas, is nothing short of vicious and senseless,” said the hostage families in a joint statement. “For the last 331 days, we warned that this could happen. Enough is enough.”

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said publicly in July that the Israeli government would not accept any ceasefire terms that do not lead to the total destruction of Hamas.

While some rescue operations have been mounted by the Israeli military to return some of the civilians taken hostage by Hamas, ceasefire negotiations have proven far more effective.

On October 7, Hersh Goldberg-Polin — an American citizen — was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. He was just 23 years old, attending a music festival with friends. We now know he was murdered by Hamas.

Doug and my prayers are with Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh's… pic.twitter.com/vHSGbWgUjr

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 1, 2024

The war in Gaza is quickly approaching the one-year mark and shows no signs of winding down — if anything, fears of it expanding into a regional conflict are higher than ever.

Israeli tensions with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have reached their highest point in months while violence in the West Bank, encouraged and spurred by a violent right-wing Israeli settler movement, continues to escalate as well.

US officials announced another round of sanctions on members of that settler movement last week, but the decision was immediately condemned by Netanyahu. In the past, the Biden administration has tended to back off after such rebukes from their Israeli counterparts, fearful of pulling at a growing rift between the two administrations.

On Capitol Hill, reactions to Goldberg-Polin’s death poured in on Sunday, while protesters rallied in Tel Aviv to demand a ceasefire deal that would see the remaining hostages returned.

I've worked tirelessly to bring Hersh home, and Jill and I could not be more heartbroken by the news of his death.

It is tragic and reprehensible.

Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we'll continue working towards a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages. pic.twitter.com/SKL99gGjOP

— President Biden (@POTUS) September 1, 2024

“It's horrible. I mean, the whole thing is horrible, and it just reaffirms that Hamas are barbarians, and it also reaffirms that we need to stop this war,” Michigan’s Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, said in an interview Sunday with MSNBC’s The Weekend.

“I mean, there are too many innocent people. Whether it's Israelis, Israeli hostages, Palestinian, innocent citizens, they it all needs to stop. I mean, and that's, you know, my, my heart goes out to everyone who is part of losing those six hostages. But this, this whole thing needs to stop.”

Chris Coons, another Democratic senator, added: “I am heartbroken and angry at the news that six hostages whose bodies were recovered in Gaza today were brutally murdered after 11 months in captivity. I am thinking especially of Jon and Rachel, Hersh’s parents, whom I’ve come to know through their tireless, courageous, and determined efforts to secure the release of their beloved son since he was taken hostage on October 7. I truly believed they would be reunited with Hersh; instead, today they are living every parent’s worst nightmare.”

He added: “Hamas is an organization of true evil, and its leaders must pay for their heinous crimes. We must secure a deal that frees the remaining hostages so that not one more parent has to feel the same pain that Jon and Rachel feel today.”

Thousands of demonstrators supporting the families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza take part in a protest rally outside the Kyria military headquarters in Tel Aviv (EPA)

Republicans, meanwhile, blamed the Biden administration for the ongoing chaos in the Middle East, a theme that Donald Trump has echoed in his campaign.

In a Truth Social post, the former president hit out at “a complete lack of American Strength and Leadership” by Harris and Biden and tried to tie it to the “Debacle of the Afghanistan Withdrawal”.

Lindsey Graham, a conservative Republican from South Carolina, argued that White House needed to increase the pressure on Iran to starve Hamas of resources, while referring to the vice president (who recently took over the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket) as a “wrecking ball” on foreign policy.

“I would say on foreign policy, she [Harris] has been a wrecking ball,” Graham said on Sunday.

Contrasting her to Trump’s running mate JD Vance, he went on to argue: “JD has been unequivocally supporting Israel. She has been horrible. She is slow-walking weapons. She did not attend the [Benjamin Netanyahu] speech [in Congress], and that juiced up every terrorist in the region.”