Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin ordered flags on state and local buildings to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday in memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin: a 23-year-old Israeli-American man who was one of six hostages in Gaza whose bodies were recovered on Sunday, per AP reports.
Goldberg-Polin, who once lived in Richmond, became one of the most well-known captives held by Hamas as his parents met with world leaders and pressed for his release, AP reported.
Watch related coverage: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who once lived in Richmond, was one of 6 hostage bodies recovered in Gaza
Governor Youngkin shared the following release following the news of Goldberg-Polin's death:
“After 330 agonizing days since the brutal terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th that left more than 1,200 dead and hundreds more held hostage, Johnathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg woke up to unimaginable news that no parent should ever receive. Suzanne and I are angered and heartbroken by the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a senseless murder at the hands of terrorists. Today, Virginians, Americans, and the world join the Goldberg-Polin family and the Keneseth Beth Israel Synagogue in prayer.”
The flags will be lowered at sunrise Tuesday until sunset.
Watch related coverage: Israel recovers the bodies of 6 hostages in Gaza, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin
AP reported that Goldberg-Polin and four other hostages were seized by militants at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack—the incident that started the Israel-Hamas war.
For more information on Goldberg-Polin and the other dead hostages who authorities recently identified, click here.
