Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrat vice presidential nominee, finally released a statement in response to the news that the bodies of six hostages, including one American citizen, had been discovered in a Hamas tunnel under Gaza after he previously dodged a question about the hostages.
In a post on X, Walz wrote that he and his wife, Gwen, send their “deepest condolences to the Goldberg-Polin family” as they mourn the loss of their son, American-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who was one of the six hostages identified.
Walz’s post came after he walked away and dodged a question from a reporter at the Minnesota State Fair who asked him what his “reaction” was to the news that the bodies of the six hostages held by Hamas had been discovered.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the six murdered hostages as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, and Goldberg-Polin.
“The anguish of losing a child is something no family should have to endure,” Walz wrote in his post. “Gwen and I send our deepest condolences to the Goldberg-Polin family, after Hamas’ murder of their son Hersh. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization – and we condemn their continued atrocities against both Americans and Israelis in the strongest possible terms.”
Ynet News reported that autopsies conducted on the hostage’s bodies showed they had sustained “gunshot wounds to their head and other areas” and that they had been “executed no more than 48 hours” before their bodies were found:
All six hostages whose bodies were discovered and recovered from Gaza on Sunday were found with gunshot wounds to their head and other areas, their autopsies showed.
According to the post-mortem, they were executed no more than 48 hours before being found and signs of neglect in captivity were found on their bodies.
Except for one of the hostages, who showed signs of being bound, no evidence of torture was found. However, the condition of their bodies indicated systematic neglect, including a lack of hygiene over a long period. Additionally, indications were present of previous injuries sustained during their abduction, which had been treated over time.
Walz’s statement comes after statements from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. In his statement, Biden stated that “Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) also responded to the news, stating his “support for Israel is unbreakable.” Fetterman has been a staunch supporter of Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, which left 1,200 people murdered and more than 250 people taken hostage.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) ordered “flags to be flown at half-staff” in honor of Goldberg-Polin. Goldberg-Polin’s family had previously lived in Richmond, Virginia, for a few years before they moved to Israel.