A video released Wednesday by Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, showed Berkeley native Hersh Goldberg-Polin alive after nearly seven months of captivity. The 23-year-old Israeli-American was taken hostage during a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7. According to a report by SFist, the proof-of-life footage marks 200 days since his capture and was confirmed to be legitimate by his parents.

The video emerged as the Goldberg-Polin family expressed relief but remained deeply concerned for his well-being, considering Hersh's arm was blown off when he was attempting to throw back a grenade at the time of the attack. In the hostage video that Hamas propagandists edited and subtitled in English, the injured Hersh expressed his love to his family, stating, "It won’t be a happy [Passover] holiday for me, but I wish you one," as obtained by The New York Times. In a cruel twist, the terrorists released the clip during Passover, casting a shadow over the religious observance.

In a call to action posted on X by Bring Them Home Now, the video stands as a chilling reminder of the horrors faced by Hersh and the 133 other hostages reportedly still in Hamas' grasp. The family-backed campaign implores, "We cannot afford to waste any more time; the hostages must be the top priority." Hersh's father Jonathan Polin, in a statement published by The New York Times, urged international and regional leaders, "be brave, lean in, seize this moment and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region."

The Goldberg-Polin family has given permission for the video of their son Hersh, who has been held captive by Hamas for 201 days, to be published and used after it was released by the terror organization Hamas today.

For more than 200 days, 133 hostages have been held captive by… pic.twitter.com/1pD4RcxEe0

— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) April 24, 2024

CBS News reported another dimension to the ordeal, noting that CBS cannot verify the contents but that the White House has acknowledged the video's receipt and that the FBI is currently analyzing the footage. Moreover, the Hostage Families Forum released a statement, saying, "Hersh's cry is the collective cry of all the hostages—their time is rapidly running out," as CBS News reported.