World
Parents of American murdered by Hamas make 'plea' to Trump after latest hostage release
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and murdered by Hamas terrorists after surviving 11 months in captivity, made a video plea to President Donald Trump after the latest hostage release.
In a video message shared on Instagram, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin reacted to the release of civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56. They were among the 250 people who were taken during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages were forced to speak during a Hamas handover ceremony, igniting outrage, as Israel in turn released nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday.
“We received the wonderful news that Eli, Or and Ohad we released today,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said in a video shared to the “Bring.Hersh.Home” account, which has garnered more than 173,000 followers. “We also felt this real connection to Or and his family because Or and Hersh were both kidnapped together from the same bomb shelter on the same pickup truck on Oct. 7. And in fact, Or’s brother, Mikha’el, contacted us right after Shabbat today to tell us that one of Or’s first questions he asked his brother this morning was ‘how is Hersh doing?’ Because he had assumed that Hersh had been released long ago, and his brother had to explain to him that Hersh had been murdered five months ago.”
Jon Polin then addressed Trump, as well as U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, imploring them to secure the release of the remaining 76 hostages this week.
HAMAS FREES 3 MORE HOSTAGES AS PART OF CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL
Israeli captives, from left to the right, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
“Seeing the condition of these three hostages, hearing that Or had no idea what happened to Hersh, that Eli was unaware of the fate of his wife and his daughters, is just a gut punch to all of us that we need to do more,” Jon Polin said. “And I’m turning directly to President Trump and to Mr. Witkoff, you have shown that you are the only ones who are able to get this situation moving, moving forward, and my plea to you, our plea to you right now is – now that you’ve done the hard part in getting movement, getting a deal started, let’s not think about Phase 1 and Phase 2 and Phase 3 in many months. Let’s think bigger and faster. All 76 hostages out this week. End of war. Who benefits from dragging it out for so long? Not the people of this region. Let’s get it done right now. Thank you.”
“Godspeed,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin added.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists last August shortly before Israeli troops reached the tunnel where they were being held in southern Gaza. Israeli troops recovered the six bodies from the tunnel, and Israeli forensic experts said they had been shot at close range after surviving nearly a year in captivity.
Israeli captive Or Levy, who has been held hostage in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Goldberg-Polin, a native of Berkeley, California, was attending a music festival when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. He lost part of his left arm to a grenade blast during the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him speaking under duress with his left hand missing, sparking new protests in Israel.
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In their first hours as free men, the three Israeli hostages released on Saturday were beginning to confront the tragic realities to which they returned
Sharabi returned to Israel after 16 months of captivity. He was told only after his return that his wife and two daughters had been killed in the Oct. 7 attack, according to reports in Israeli media.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was murdered by Hamas. (Israel’s Minister of Defense)
Levy “was not sure” what happened to his wife on that day, his mother, Geula, told Israeli media on Saturday, adding that he was not exposed to media reports while in Gaza. Levy was taken from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival in southern Israel and his wife, Einav, was killed in the attack. His mother said he also asked about Goldberg-Polin, who was abducted from the same bomb shelter. Levy was reunited Saturday with his 3-year-old son.
A third released hostage, Ben Ami, sat huddled with his wife and three daughters in a hospital corridor. He told them: “I have a lot of things to catch up on.” Ben Ami is a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest hit communities on Oct. 7. “I need to get answers to a lot of things, and I know some of them will be difficult answers,” he said in footage released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. “I need to know what happened on that day.”
It was the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners since the current Israel-Hamas ceasefire began on Jan. 19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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