“You may remember the name Hersh Goldberg Pollin. The then 23-year-old Israeli-American was one of those taken by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival on October 7th. When the terrorists arrived… , he hid in a small concrete air raid shelter with others. That's when the insurgents threw a grenade. According to witnesses, Mr. Hirsch worked hard to throw the grenade. Part of his arm was blown off when the explosion occurred, and the gunmen then dragged him out and forced him into the back of a pickup truck.
Other gunmen scream as they bring survivors from the shelter. Come, come, they cry. Please load…
This was all captured on video. His parents, Rachel and Jonathan, didn't even know about the video until CNN's Anderson Cooper discovered it and showed it to them during an interview.
As a parent, it's terrifying to see your child being held at gunpoint with one arm. The composure of walking on my own two feet, pulling me with my weekly hands. He is left-handed and had his left arm blown off by himself while resting his hand on a truck one week. It was really empowering to see him deal with a scary situation and stay calm about it.
That was the last time they saw their son Harsh, bleeding and unconscious for more than six months, loaded into a truck like a piece of construction equipment.
Tune in to the latest news on CNN. Hamas released a video of hostages taken from Israel on October 7th.
Today is the first time we've seen him survive the serious injuries he sustained on October 7th.
What does the 'Proof of Life' video mean for the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza? From CNN, it's a tug of war. I'm David Lind.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is back today. He is in Jerusalem. So, Jeremy, could you explain this hostage video that Hamas released the other day?
“This means that Hersh Goldberg Pollin's family has not had any evidence of his survival for more than 200 days. And that he survived the severe injuries sustained on October 7th. This is the first time we've actually been able to see it. There was footage from the day he suffered a serious injury to his left arm. And in this video, part of his left arm is missing just below the elbow. We get it. But he speaks for several minutes in the video. Obviously, we think he's under threat, given the fact that he's being held hostage by Hamas. And of course, we know that Hamas has used these videos for propaganda purposes in the past. But at least for the family, it's an opportunity to make sure that their son can speak to the camera, and they don't want to expose their son like this. They said it was emotional to see him. They're excited to see him alive, but of course they're also very concerned for his safety.
Yeah. And why is this happening now? For example, what do you think the timing of releasing a video like this means?
Now, we've seen over the past few weeks that these negotiations have really, really stalled and gone backwards in some ways. So now is clearly a time when Hamas is trying to put more pressure on the Israeli government. We've seen them do this in the past at key points in negotiations. Israeli authorities have described this as psychological warfare against the Israeli people, but there is no doubt that it has led to increased pressure on the Israeli government.
After the release of this video, we witnessed protests in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem throughout the night.
People are calling on the Israeli government to do everything in its power to secure the release of Polish national Hersh Goldberg and about 130 other hostages captured on October 7th.
“Yes, obviously there are still a lot of people being held in Gaza. But why? Hersh. Specifically this video? Because he's one of the most recognizable names in it. So. , does Hamas know what kind of reaction it will provoke in the world that sees it?
Well, I think one of the important factors here has to be the fact that he is a dual Israeli-American citizen. He is one of nine American hostages in Gaza. He is one of five still believed to be alive. And as you know, the United States, of course, has played an important role in this whole process of negotiations, and has recently put more pressure on Qatar as well.
“My name is Rachel and this is John. And we are also the parents of Hersh Goldberg Pollin, an Israeli-American civilian who was kidnapped in Gaza 201 days ago.
When I watch Harsh's videos today, I am blown away.
After this video was released, we heard from his parents. They said how overwhelmed they were to see this, but they also had a message for negotiators.
And we are here today to appeal to the leaders of all political parties that have been negotiated so far. This includes Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Hamas, and Israel. Be brave. Let's lean in and seize this moment to seal the deal that will allow us all to reunite with our loved ones and end suffering in our region.
He effectively seizes this moment and pleads for courage so that they can finally reach an agreement not only for the release of his son, but also for the sake of the other hostages still being held.
And Harsh, if you hear this. Today, I heard your voices for the first time in 201 days. If you could hear us, I would tell you. We're telling you we love you. Be strong. survive.
Welcome to Tug of War and a conversation with CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
Can you tell me what the status of these talks actually is? What's the holdup here? Because I know I sound like a broken record. You and I have come here many times only to see negotiations fall apart. So what is the current status of these things?
'Yeah. And how many times have we talked about it? Oh, it looks like we've made some progress. A breakthrough may be on the horizon. We've seen that moment happen many times. But once again we find ourselves in a situation where there is little room for optimism in these negotiations. They certainly aren't dead. But what we've seen in recent weeks is that Israel and mediators have come up with several framework proposals, and that Israel is actually increasing the number of Palestinian prisoners and is willing to release them. This means that they are accepting certain demands in terms of accepting more prisoners of war. During this ceasefire, Palestinians move into northern Gaza. And Hamas is pursuing it tooth and nail here, refusing to budge on its core demands, including full freedom for Palestinians to return to northern Gaza and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops. And what they've done, according to my sources, is they've actually backed away from the number of hostages they were going to release in the first phase of this deal. The 40 hostages have been the basis of negotiations in recent months. And now the latest counteroffer from them is talking about fewer than 20 hostages. So these negotiations are not over. They still happen. Efforts are still underway to find other ways to move forward with these negotiations, but the situation is not very good at this point.
Well, you mentioned Qatar earlier. For example, could you explain why some of the key actors here are angry with them because they have a different relationship with Hamas than other actors?
Well, I guess so. And there is certainly a sense within Israel, and increasingly within the United States, that Qatar is not doing enough and not bringing the full force of pressure it is exerting on Hamas. Israeli officials I spoke to pointed to the fact that not only does Hamas have an office in Doha, but its political leader Ismail Haniyeh currently lives there. But they also control some of the purse strings and economic influence over Hamas as well. And Israeli officials are increasingly pushing for Qatar to use its influence in the talks. And more recently, we have seen the United States begin to increase pressure on Qatar as well, prompting a statement from Qatar's foreign minister last week, in effect reconsidering its role in these negotiations. He said he intended to do so. Because these negotiations have stalled, we are now at the point where we are beginning to hear calls from the United States to reevaluate the Qatari relationship. And we must not forget that Qatar values its relationship with the United States. The United States has a military base in Qatar. Therefore, there is a lot at stake for Qatar if these negotiations do not work out. And I think they're really starting to feel that pressure. And it's becoming very uncomfortable for them.
Yeah. I think you think that you have very close ties to Hamas, as do the United States and Israel. But months and months go by and no progress is made.
Yeah. And, look, Qatar's argument is going to be, you know, we have an important role to play here. We have that relationship. We were able to help secure the first hostage release agreement in which dozens of hostages were released. But they're essentially saying they can't force Hamas' hand here. And from their perspective, they're doing the best they can. Israeli officials certainly disagree with that assessment. So do some US officials. But the problem there is that, as you know, Egypt is also an important player here. In fact, in recent months, we've seen a kind of rise of Egypt in terms of the role it's played in these negotiations. However, it is unclear whether Egypt can play the same role as Qatar, or whether it can do it alone. Should Qatar choose to withdraw from these talks?
Tug of War is a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Paola Ortiz, myself, and David Lind. Our senior producer is Haley Thomas. Dan Dzula is our technical director and Steve Lickteig is our CNN Audio executive producer. Support is provided by Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, John Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to Caroline Patterson, Seb Shukla, and Katie Hinman. I'll be back next Wednesday. So let's talk.