Hamas released the video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin as a "gesture" to the Qatari government, which had pressured the terrorist organization to provide proof of life in recent weeks, Axios reported on Wednesday citing two sources with knowledge of the issue.
According to the report, the video was delivered by Hamas to Qatar who passed it to the US and Israel on Monday before it was made public by Hamas on Wednesday.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Axios that the Biden administration had asked the Qatari government several times for assistance in getting proof of life for Goldberg-Polin and other American hostages. The issue came up in phone calls between Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as senior White House officials.
In response to the video released by Hamas of their son, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin released a statement in which they called on all involved to work for the release of their son.
"We are here today with a plea to all of the leaders of the parties who have been negotiating to date. This includes Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Hamas, and Israel: be brave, lean in, seize this moment, and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region," they pleaded.
The Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department, Vedant Patel, stated that the FBI is investigating the veracity of the video showing Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
"The video itself is being actively examined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell," Patel said at a press briefing. "I can't comment on it any further at this time, [on] any of the specific parameters on the verification of it."
"If it's real," he noted, "this is another example of Hamas preferring to hold hostages rather than end the war and bring much-needed relief to the Palestinian people in Gaza."