Editorial: Death of hostages amplifies call for peace

The hearts of the commonwealth and of the nation are with the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin today. The 23-year-old former resident of Richmond was among six hostages killed recently by Hamas terrorists, his body located in a tunnel underneath the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza.

His bright light, now extinguished, reminds us all of what has been lost in the Israel-Gaza conflict as the last 11 months have seen too much destruction, too much bloodshed and too many heartbroken families devastated by loss. It lends further urgency to those calling for an end to the killing and the pursuit of a lasting peace.

The Israeli government announced Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages after storming a tunnel complex during ongoing operations in Gaza. All six had been executed at close range between Thursday and Friday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Goldberg-Polin was among the roughly 250 people taken from southern Israel in a surprise Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people. The operation prompted a furious IDF response and full-scale invasion of Gaza, which is roughly the same size as Hampton and is home to 2 million residents.

There is no reliable estimate of how many have died in that operation. Neither side produces trustworthy casualty numbers and numerous journalists have died covering the war. But it’s no stretch to say the death toll is staggering and defies comprehension.

At the heart of the conflict, though, are the men, women and children such as Goldberg-Polin, who was taken when terrorists overran a music festival in the town of Re’im. The New York Times reported in November that, prior to his abduction, he lost part of his left arm in an explosion as he and others took shelter in a bomb shelter.

Before moving to Israel, Goldberg-Palin lived with his family in the West End neighborhood of Richmond for four years, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. His father worked for Capital One and they attended Keneseth Beth Israel synagogue.

In short, these were ordinary people living ordinary lives in Virginia. His parents became public faces of grief and resolve as they pleaded day after day, month after month, for their son’s release, including a recent speech at the Democratic National Convention.

That they will never see him again, hug him again and tell him that they love him again is a pain no parent should know. And while Hamas bears blame for what happened on Oct. 7, it is a pain known all too well on the Palestinian side as well, as IDF forces have decimated Gaza, leaving few families there untouched by the brutal violence of war.

Not that the conflict is in any way confined to that region. Goldberg-Polin was a dual Israel-U.S. citizen, and was one of eight Americans still held by Hamas nearly a year after the Oct. 7 attack. And U.S. funding for Israel’s campaign has been a national flashpoint, particularly on college campuses but also in street protests and at the DNC last month.

There are undoubtedly extremist elements in those protests and some have used contemptible tactics, including disgusting antisemitism, to press their case. But the overwhelming number of those calling for a ceasefire are pro-peace. They want the killing to stop and for a political solution that frees the hostages and allows the people of both sides to live.

This weekend showed that Americans calling for peace are joined by countless Israeli residents themselves, who filled the streets to denounce Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after news of the hostages’ deaths was released.

As we mourn Goldberg-Polin and celebrate his memory, we can only dream of what he could have accomplished in life had that opportunity not been cruelly taken from him. No one else should meet the same fate.

It’s past time to stop the killing, to free the hostages and to find a path to peace.