‘I really believed he would be released:’ Israeli-American among six hostages found dead in Gaza

>>> WE ARE >>> WE ARE BACK WITH OUR BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE OF THE SIX HOSTAGES FOUND DEAD IN GAZA, BY ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES. NOW, ACCORDING TO THE ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCE, THE HOSTAGES ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN KILLED SHORTLY, BEFORE THEY WERE FOUND. JOINING US NOW IS JEREMY BASH, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE CIA AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. JEREMY, THANK YOU FOR GETTING UP EARLY WITH US THIS MORNING ON THIS BREAKING NEWS. I WANT TO GO TO THIS POINT THAT WE KNOW FROM THE ISRAELI MILITARY MEDIA, GIVEN AUTOPSIES THAT THE HOSTAGES-- THE BODIES THAT WERE RECOVERED, WERE SHORTLY-- WERE KILLED-- THE PEOPLE WERE KILLED SHORTLY BEFORE THE TROOPS GOT TO THEM. THESE ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES. WHICH, AS MICHAEL AND I WERE JUST DISCUSSING IN THE BREAK, SUGGESTS THAT THEY WERE KILLED INTENTIONALLY, BECAUSE HAMAS KNEW THEY WERE-- THEY WERE COMING TO BE RESCUED. WHAT KIND OF CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING NOW, DO YOU THINK? GIVEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? OBVIOUSLY, CIA DIRECTOR BURNS HAS BEEN LEAD ON THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR A CEASE-FIRE AND CONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY BLINKEN FOR THE PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT AND SO ON AND SO FORTH, BUT DOES THIS COMPLICATE THE MATTER HERE AND ARE THEY WORKING TO GATHER MORE INFORMATION DO YOU THINK? GIVEN YOUR EXPERIENCE? >> WELL, SIMON, MICHAEL, FIRST OF ALL WE HAVE TO SAY WE ARE HEARTBROKEN, BECAUSE THIS AMERICAN HOSTAGE, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN WAS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ATTENDING A MUSICAL FESTIVAL, JUST LIKE ANY AMERICAN YOUTH TODAY WOULD BE ATTENDING A SOCCER TOURNAMENT OR BACK-TO-SCHOOL BARBECUE AND HE WAS TAKEN BY TERRORISTS, HIS ARM WAS BLOWN OFF, HE MANAGED TO SOMEHOW SURVIVE THAT GRUESOME WOUND AND HE SURVIVED 11 MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY, AND HIS PARENTS, JOHN POLIN AND RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN, I HAVE MET WITH HIM PERSONALLY, THEY HAVE MET ON THE GLOBAL STAGE , THEY HAVE MET WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN, WITH WORLD LEADERS AROUND THE GLOBE TO BASICALLY PLEAD, PLEASE LET THESE HOSTAGES GO, AND HAMAS COULD END THIS RIGHT NOW, BY LETTING NEARLY 100 HOSTAGES GO. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, SIMON, I THINK IT IS FULL STEAM AHEAD TO TRY TO GET A CEASE-FIRE DEAL. I DON'T THINK ANY DISCOVERY OF ADDITIONAL HOSTAGES WHO HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY HAMAS REALLY CHANGES THE EQUATION. THE UNITED STATES ONCE A CEASE- FIRE. WE WANT-- WE WANT THE HOSTAGES RELEASED, ALL OF THEM. THERE ARE STILL SEVEN AMERICAN HOSTAGES UNACCOUNTED FOR OR, WE BELIEVE ARE LIVING, BUT FOR HAMAS TO BRUTALLY MURDER AN AMERICAN HOSTAGE IN COLD BLOOD, JUST AS WE ARE NEGOTIATING THEIR RELEASE JUST SHOWS YOU THE DEPRAVITY OF THAT ORGANIZATION OFF THE IDEOLOGY ON THEIR TACTICS. >> JEREMY, YOU KNOW, THIS POINTS TO SYMONE'S QUESTION THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF EFFORTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY, WITHIN THE WEST WING SITUATION ROOM, LOOKING AT THIS, OF COURSE, THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU KNOW, AS THEY ARE TRYING TO GATHER THAT, THE PRESIDENT HAS PUT OUT A VERY FORCEFUL STATEMENT, OBVIOUSLY TO CONDEMN THESE KILLINGS. HAMAS HAS RESPONDED TO THIS HOSTAGE CRISIS, DR. BASEM NAEEM SAYS PRESIDENT BIDEN IS CONCERNED WITH RESERVING HUMAN LIFE, REGARDLESS OF ITS NATIONALITY OR RELIGION, HE MUST EXERCISE HIS POWERS AND USES TOOLS TO STOP THE AGGRESSION IMMEDIATELY AND FORCE NETANYAHU AND HIS FASCIST GOVERNMENT TO SIGN A CEASE- FIRE, WHICH HE SEEKS TO DISRUPT EVERY TIME EITHER BY COMMITTING OR THICK MASSACRES OR ADDING NEW CONDITIONS. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO JUST KILLED SIX INDIVIDUALS, BECAUSE AS, SIMON NOTED, THEY WERE ABOUT TO BE RESCUED. HOW DO THESE ACTIONS COMPLICATE THIS EFFORT TOWARDS A CEASE- FIRE? WHICH, TO BE HONEST, HAS BEEN LANGUISHING? BACK AND FORTH, BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS AND THE U.S. TRYING TO PUSH THIS BALL FORWARD. WHAT NEXT STEPS CAN BE TAKEN, GIVEN THE COMPLICATION OF THIS HARD, HARD NO STANDS IN THE FACE OF THESE KILLINGS, AS WELL AS THE EFFORTS TO TRY TO RESCUE THE REMAINING HOSTAGES? >> WELL, AN EVENT LIKE THIS MAKES IT EVEN MORE URGENT TO GET THE REST OF THE HOSTAGES OUT, AND I THINK THAT WILL REQUIRE EVERYBODY, FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN, TO PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, EGYPT, JORDAN, QATAR, AND ANYBODY WHO HAS INFLUENCE OVER HAMAS TO REDOUBLE, REACH TRIPLE THEIR EFFORTS TO GET THESE HOSTAGES OUT, INCLUDING THE SEVEN AMERICANS REMAIN. BUT LOOK, I THINK IT DOES, IN SOME WAYS BOLSTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU'S ARGUED THAT THESE ARE TERRORIST, THEY WILL KILL OUR PEOPLE IN COLD BLOOD, AND SO, WE CAN'T REALLY NEGOTIATE WITH THEM AND JUST AS WE ARE ABOUT TO PUT OUR HANDS ON THEM AND RESCUE THEM, WHETHER THROUGH NEGOTIATION OR THROUGH A SPECIAL OPERATIONS, THEY WILL PUT A POOL BULLET IN THE BACK OF THESE TERRORISTS, SO, IN SOME WAYS IT BOLSTERS NETANYAHU'S ARGUMENT THAT THEY MUST DESTROY IT MILITARILY, OR PUT MORE MILITARY PRESSURE ON HAMAS, ON THE OTHER HAND, I THINK IT DOES ALSO MAKE MORE URGENT THE EFFORT TO GET OUT ANY INNOCENT CAPTIVES WHO CAN BE RELEASED. I HAVE TO JUST SAY, PERSONALLY, I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH JOHN POLIN AND RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN , THE PARENTS OF THE AMERICAN WHO WAS MURDERED AND I REALLY BELIEVE, I REALLY BELIEVE IN MY HEART OF HEARTS THAT THIS WAS GOING TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING. I BELIEVE HE WAS GOING TO BE RELEASED. THERE WERE SO MANY EFFORTS UNDERWAY, SO MANY PEOPLE OF GOODWILL ACROSS THE WORLD, INCLUDING FROM THE ARAB, FROM THE PALESTINIAN, FROM THE MUSLIM WORLD, WHO ACTUALLY CAME TO US AND SAID THAT THEY WANTED TO WORK ON THE RELEASE OF HOSTAGES. AND I REALLY BELIEVED HE WAS GOING TO BE REUNITED WITH HIS PARENTS, WITH HIS TWO SISTERS, WITH HIS LOVING FAMILY, WITH ALL OF HIS FRIENDS, AND I AM JUST ABSOLUTELY HEARTBROKEN, DEVASTATED THAT THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY, BUT WE CANNOT REST, BECAUSE THERE ARE STILL 100 HOSTAGES THAT ARE BEING HELD, INCLUDING SEVEN AMERICANS. >> JEREMY, THIS IS A PART OF THE STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN RELEASED LATE LAST NIGHT. PRESIDENT BIDEN NOTES IT IS AS TRAGIC AS IT IS REPREHENSIBLE, MAKE NO MISTAKE, HAMAS LEADERS WILL PAY FOR THESE CRIMES, AND WE WILL KEEP WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK FOR IDEALS TO SECURE THE RELEASE OF THE REMAINING HOSTAGES. I WILL NOTE, IT SEEMS THAT HAMAS RESPONDED TO THE PRESIDENT ON HOSTAGES, WITH A STATEMENT OF THEIR OWN NOTING, PART, IF PRESIDENT BIDEN IS CONCERNED WITH PROTECTING HUMAN LIFE, REGARDLESS OF ITS NATIONALITY OR RELIGION, HE MUST EXERCISE HIS POWERS AND USES TOOLS TO STOP THE AGGRESSION IMMEDIATELY AND FORCE BENJAMIN NETANYAHU AND HIS FASCIST GOVERNMENT TO SIGN A CEASE-FIRE WHICH HE SEEKS TO DISRUPT EVERY TIME, EITHER BY COMMITTING OR THICK MASSACRES OR ADDING THE CONDITIONS. THE STATEMENT FROM HAMAS, OBVIOUSLY REPREHENSIBLE, GIVEN THAT THEY EXECUTED-- REPORTEDLY, IT SEEMS, AS THOUGH THESE PEOPLE WHO LITERALLY WERE LIVING THEIR LIVES AND ABDUCTED WHEN TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY. YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE FAMILY, HAVE YOU SPOKEN TO JOHN AND RACHEL? THIS LAST-- LATE LAST NIGHT, THIS MORNING, AND IF SO, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW THEY ARE DOING? >> YEAH. WELL, SIMON, THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT THAT STATEMENT IS REPREHENSIBLE, BECAUSE IT IS, AND I DID SPEAK TO JOHN AND RACHEL YESTERDAY MORNING, ACTUALLY I HAVE TO SAY EVEN AS EARLY AS YESTERDAY MORNING, SATURDAY MORNING, THEY WERE STILL WORKING DIFFERENT ANGLES, OPPORTUNITIES, POINTS OF LEVERAGE, INCLUDING WITH U.S. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, TO SEE HOW THEY CAN GET THEIR LOVED ONE, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN, AS WELL AS THE OTHER HOSTAGES RELEASED, AND IT WAS ONLY LATE IN THE AFTERNOON THAT I REACHED OUT TO THEM, AND THEY DID CONFIRM TO ME, RACHEL CONFIRMED TO ME THAT THEY WERE WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT THE IDENTIFICATION OF CERTAIN REMAINS THAT THE IDF IDENTIFIED , AND SHE JUST SAID ONE WORD TO ME. SHE SAID, PRAY. AND OF COURSE, THAT IS WHAT I DID ALL NIGHT LONG, AND THEN ABOUT 11:15 P.M. , LATE LAST NIGHT, EASTERN TIME, SHE SENT ONE LINE TO ME BY TEXT, WHICH IS HEBREW, IT SAID [ SPEAKING IN A GLOBAL LANGUAGE ] BLESS YOU, O LORD, WHO IS THE JUDGE OR OF TRUTH, AND THAT IS THE STATEMENT THAT PEOPLE SAY TO EACH OTHER, WHEN THEY HAVE HEARD THE NEWS OF SOMEBODY PASSING. AND SO, SHE WAS SAYING TO ME THAT HER BELOVED HERSH HAD PASSED. I DON'T NEED TO TELL ANYBODY HERE, EVERYBODY CAN IMAGINE THEMSELVES IN A SITUATION OF SEEING THEIR OWN CHILD ABDUCTED, SURVIVING DEVASTATING WOUNDS AND BEING HELD IN TUNNELS, AT GUNPOINT FOR 11 MONTHS, STARVED, TORTURED, BEATEN, AND WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK, BECAUSE, OF COURSE, IT WOULDN'T DEFY THE LAWS OF PHYSICS TO RELEASE THIS PERSON, IT IS JUST THE FACT THAT EVIL PEOPLE WERE HOLDING HIM. EVIL PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY THE WORLD COMMUNITY, BY POWERS IN THE WORLD, HETHER THEY WERE FROM THE UNITED STATES, ISRAEL, THE ARAB AND MUSLIM WORLD, THEY WERE NOT BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE. AND THEY COULD HAVE RELEASED HIM ANY MOMENT IN THE LAST 11 MONTHS AND THEY DID NOT. AND SO, THIS IS A TIME, A BIT TO MOURN, IT IS A TIME TO HUG YOUR LOVED ONE. A TIME TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T TAKE FOR GRANTED ANYBODY'S SAFETY OR SECURITY. THERE ARE TERRORISTS IN THE WORLD WHO WILL ABDUCT, WHO WILL KILL, WHO WILL BOMB, WILL DESTROY, AND I THINK IT IS A TIME FOR THE UNITED STATES AND OUR ALLIES AND PARTNERS TO CLOSE RANKS AND FIGHT THE TERRORISTS AND REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS TO GET THESE HOSTAGES OUT AND CREATE SECURITY AND PEACE FOR ALL PEOPLE. ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS, AND PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD. >> WELL SAID, JEREMY BASH, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING. AND OUR