New footage showing the kidnapping of three Israeli men on October 7 has been made public by their families in a desperate bid to pressure world leaders into agreeing a deal to secure the release of the hostages still being held in Gaza.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Or Levy and Eliya Cohen were among three of the hundreds of party-goers attending the Nova music festival when the Hamas terror group stormed across the border and attacked southern Israel last year.
The trio were captured from what later became known as the ‘death shelter’ – a bomb shelter in which several festival-goers hid as the attack unfolded.
Hamas gunmen found the bunker, launched an assault and – despite the heroic efforts of those hiding inside – killed and captured many taking shelter.
The shocking video – mostly filmed by one of the Hamas terrorists – shows the heavily-armed gunmen dragging the survivors out from the bunker and throwing them into the back of a pickup truck before driving them to Gaza.
The terrorists are heard referring to the captives as ‘dogs’, with one grabbing a hostage by the head and shouting: ‘I want to take a selfie with you’.
In an agonising decision, a blurred version of the horrifying footage has been released at the family’s request in a bid to push for a hostage deal.
New footage showing the kidnapping of three Israeli men on October 7 has been made public by their families in a desperate bid to pressure world leaders into agreeing a deal to secure the release of the hostages still being held in Gaza. Pictured: Hamas gunmen are seen laying siege to a bomb shelter where around 30 people hid during the terror group’s October 7 attack
The clip opens briefly with dashcam footage (pictured) showing several gunmen at the entrance to the shelter as smoke billows from the doorway, likely from grenades being thrown inside the concrete building opposite the entrance to Kibbutz Re’im
The blood-covered legs of Hersh Goldberg-Polin (left) are seen alongside the torso of Or Levy (right) in this still grab from the newly released footage. The pair were bundled into the back of a truck by Hamas gunmen, along-side Eliya Cohen. The trio are currently being held hostage inside Gaza. The footage has been made public by their families in a desperate plea to pressure world leaders to agree a deal to release the hostages
Left: A Hamas gunmen is seen in the back of the truck holding an assault rifle as the hostages are taken to Gaza. Right: A wounded Hersh Goldberg-Polin is seen in the truck
The clip opens briefly with dashcam footage showing several gunmen at the entrance to the shelter as smoke billows from the doorway, likely from grenades being thrown inside the concrete building opposite the entrance to Kibbutz Re’im.
It then cuts to mobile phone footage recorded by one of the Hamas gunmen as the male hostages are forced into the back of the truck.
Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, is seen after being seriously injured, his right hand having been completely severed in the attack.
He climbs into the truck amid shouts from the Hamas terrorists, cradling his injured arm. His bare legs are seen covered in blood.
On April 24, 2024, Hamas released a video of Goldberg-Polin in captivity, providing his family with the first proof of life since he was taken hostage.
Levy, 33, is also seen being pushed into the truck along with Goldberg-Polin. He is seen in a blue t-shirt, also covered in blood, lying on the bed of the truck.
One of the Hamas terrorists is heard saying: ‘Here are the dogs.’
A rocket launcher is also in the vehicle, one of the many weapons used by the Hamas terrorists to wreak death and destruction in southern Israel on October 7.
Like Goldberg-Polin, Levy also sought refuge inside the shelter alongside his wife Einav. The pair had arrived at the Nova festival at 6.20am that day, only for Hamas’s attack to begin nine minutes later.
They hid inside the ‘death shelter’, but Einav, 32, was killed in the assault, and Levy was taken to Gaza covered in the blood of his wife who had been shot dead moments earlier.
The edited clip released by their families then cuts to another portion of the Hamas-filmed footage, which shows the truck barrelling down a road towards Gaza.
It shows that Goldberg-Polin and Levy were joined by a third hostage – Eliya Cohen, 27 – who is also seen in the back of the truck.
Cohen had also come to the festival with his partner, Ziv Abud, as well as her nephew and the nephew’s girlfriend. All four took refuge inside the shelter, but Ziv’s nephew and his girlfriend were murdered.
Miraculously, Ziv survived the attack, hiding under bodies of those who were slain.
At this point in the video, the hostages are now guarded by several Hamas terrorists, all armed with weapons and celebrating the fact that they have captured hostages.
One Hamas gunman is seen grabbing Goldberg-Polin by the hair, showing his face to the camera, as another works to bandage his wounded arm.
‘I want to take a selfie with you,’ one gunman is heard telling the hostage.
Michael Levy, 41, pushed to release the footage that shows his younger brother, Or, loaded into the truck and kidnapped into Gaza.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of the three hostages seen being dragged from the ‘death shelter’ in the newly released footage, is seen in this photograph provided by his family
A view of a banner depicting Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American seized during the October 7 attack, is seen in this photograph
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who has been held hostage by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, poses for a photo next to a poster of her son during an interview in Jerusalem on May 29, 2024
Or Levy (centre) is seen with his wife Einav (right) and their two-year-old son Almog. Einav was killed by the Hamas gunmen in the death shelter on October 7, while Or remains in Gaza
Saki Levy holds a picture of her nephew Or Levy, who is one of the hostages seen in the video and who is being held in the Gaza Strip after they were seized by Hamas gunmen on October 7
Eliya Cohen, an Israeli hostage who was kidnapped in the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas, is pictured in this undated handout photo
Ziv Abud, the girlfriend of hostage Eliya Cohen, who was kidnapped during the October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from Gaza, shows her t-shirt with a picture of Eliya during an interview with Reuters, in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 7, 2024
Ziv Abud (centre), the girlfriend of 26-year-old Eliya Cohen who was kidnapped at the NOVA party in Reim, Israel on October 7, holds a poster calling for his release. She survived the attack on the ‘death shelter’ by hiding under the bodies of those who were killed
‘It was one of the most difficult things I ever had to watch, seeing his face. He is [my] baby brother,’ Michael said. ‘It is just awful, hearing how much these monsters enjoy causing death to innocent people.
‘Watching your terrified brother covered in his own wife’s blood that was just murdered in front of him. That is something I will never forget in my life.
‘Seeing the horror on his face. I’ve never seen him so terrified in my life and I have known him for 33 years.
‘I felt helpless. I still feel helpless. I’m supposed to defend him and I can’t.’
Or, a computer engineer, lived with Einav, a graphic designer, and their two-year-old son, Almog, in Givatayim, near Tel Aviv.
Their boy turns three on Tuesday and Michael is urging world leaders to hammer out a deal to bring Or home so his son doesn’t grow up an orphan.
‘Almog turns three tomorrow and they will have to mark his birthday without his parents,’ Michael, a social media manager, said. ‘For me, that’s the saddest thing.
‘No kid in the world should celebrate his birthday without his parents.
‘The most important thing is to release them so Almog will at least have a father.’
The toddler is living with his grandparents, Avi, 72, and Geula, 68, in Rishon LeTsiyon, near Tel Aviv.
‘He calls for his parents all the time,’ Michael, who is the oldest of three brothers, said. ‘All the time he is asking why he can’t meet them, saying he wants to go home.
‘He doesn’t understand why his parents just disappeared. He cries and wants them to come back. Unfortunately, his mother won’t come back.’
This month an astonishing rescue saved four hostages from captivity but 120 remain in Gaza.
Addressing world leaders, Michael, a father of three, said: ‘While the hostage rescue was an amazing day, we know that the rest will have to be released by a deal.
‘We published this video to put pressure to get a deal as soon as possible – because time is running out. People are starting to forget, but the world needs to know that innocent civilians are still held hostage by these monsters.’
Ultra-Orthodox Jews from central Israel visit the ‘death shelter’ on Friday
In a statement along with the release of the footage, the Families Forum said: ‘This harrowing footage stands as a damning testament to the 262-day-long abandonment of our loved ones.
‘Hersh, Eliya, and Or were taken alive, and they must return alive, today.
‘Every day that passes puts the hostages at greater risk and diminishes our chances of bringing them back safely.
‘After nearly 9 months of fighting and despite recent achievements, it’s clear to everyone that returning all 120 hostages is only possible through a deal!
‘We must approve and implement an agreement that will bring all hostages home – the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial.’
Goldberg-Polin was attending the festival with his close friend Aner Shapira, a 22-year-old British-Israeli off-duty soldier.
The ‘death shelter’ is seen in this photo. The date 7.10.23 is spray painted on the wall outside
Shapira was among those killed by Hamas in the attack on the bunker, but not before he heroically threw back seven grenades that had been hurled into the small space by the gunmen in an attempt to kill those hiding inside.
A month after the attack, Shapira’s mother told Israeli news that survivors said her son had stood at the entrance to the shelter, tossing the grenades back outside as they were thrown in one-by-one.
Dashcam footage from outside the bunker showed the Hamas terrorists attempting to throw grenades inside, only for them to come flying back out at them.
Tragically, the eighth grenade exploded in Shapira’s hand, killing him.