Six Hostage Bodies Recovered in Gaza... Trump Blames Biden and Harris for American Deaths

The bodies of six civilians who had been held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, were recovered. Upon confirmation that among the deceased was a U.S. national, President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris immediately condemned, stating, "The Hamas leadership will pay the price for these crimes." On the other hand, Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump criticized, saying, "This happened because Comrade Harris and corrupt Biden are terrible leaders."

On the 1st (local time), the U.S. and Israeli governments announced that the Israeli military discovered the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, and recovered them the previous day. These individuals had been taken during Hamas's raid on Israel last October and had been missing since. Among the hostages was Hersh Goldberg-Polin (23), who held dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship. Daniel Hagari, chief spokesperson for the Israeli military, stated, "The hostages were brutally killed by Hamas terrorists just before we arrived."

In a statement, President Biden expressed being "deeply shocked and angered" by the death of Goldberg-Polin, who held dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship, and said, "The Hamas leadership will pay the price for these crimes." Goldberg-Polin was featured in a video released by Hamas last April, in which he appeared with his left wrist severed, appealing to the Israeli government to allow the hostages to return home, sparking protests demanding their release. His parents also recently spoke at the U.S. Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the United Nations, urging the prompt release of the hostages.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, also issued a separate statement, calling Hamas "an evil terrorist organization" and criticizing, "With this murder, Hamas has stained its hands with more American blood." She strongly condemned "the ongoing brutality of Hamas," asserting that "the threat posed by Hamas to Israel and Americans in Israel must be eliminated, and Hamas must not govern Gaza." She added, "There will be no wavering in the commitment to secure the release of all hostages, including Americans held in the Gaza Strip." With the recovery of the hostages' bodies in Gaza, demands for the Israeli government to reach a ceasefire and hostage negotiations are expected to intensify.

Meanwhile, former President Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, "I mourn the senseless deaths of excellent American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, killed by Hamas due to America's lack of strength and leadership, along with the Israeli hostages." He stated, "Let me be clear, this happened because Comrade Kamala Harris and corrupt Joe Biden are terrible leaders," adding, "This is a total failure of leadership."

Earlier, Trump had also posted, "The hostage crisis in Israel happened because Comrade Kamala Harris is weak and incompetent and does not know what she is doing," and claimed, "If I were president, the October 7 incident in Israel would never have happened." He further added regarding the upcoming presidential debate scheduled for the 10th, "I look forward to seeing her on the debate stage."