Hersh Goldberg-Polin's parents thought he had died after his arm was blown up by a grenade 201 days ago when Hamas attacked a music festival in Israel.
Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin had assumed they would never see their son again — but that changed when Hamas released a hostage video featuring a one-armed Hersh.
Here's how it unfolded.
The day of the attack
Hersh, 23, was one of hundreds of people at the Nature Party at Kibbutz Re'im, on Israel's border with Gaza, on October 7.
Around 250 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage by the gunmen, who killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, in the deadliest attack in Israel's history.
In response, Israel launched an assault on Gaza, pledging to destroy Hamas and bring the hostages home. The assault has so far killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
His mother, Rachel, writes in the New York Times, Hersh was camping with his best friend, Aner Shapira, when Hamas began firing machine guns into the crowd.
His father, Jon, told the Jerusalem Post he received a message from his son at 8am saying "I love you" before a second ten minutes later saying "I'm sorry."
They both later found out Hersh and Aner had escaped the festival by car before the vehicle came under fire, forcing them to take cover in a bomb shelter.
Video emerged of Hamas attacking the shelter using grenades. CNN reports a woman who was in the bunker with Hersh said he helped to throw grenades out of a bunker before getting his arm blown off from the elbow down.
Aner did not survive.
Hersh, with the remaining survivors in the bunker, was then forced into the back of a pick-up truck and taken into Gaza. His last known location based on his mobile phone was on the Gaza border on the Saturday afternoon.
The hostage release
Rachel left her job teaching to become a full-time advocate for her son's release.
"My husband and I work 18 to 20 hours per day. We go anywhere; we talk to anyone," she told the Miami Herald.
The paper reports Rachel and Jon spoke to UN representatives, Pope Francis, Elon Musk, US president Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 25 senators and seven governors, Israel's war cabinet, a number of celebrities and influencers and even record executive Scooter Braun in the hope of getting their son released.
In late November, Israel and Gaza began a week-long hostage and prisoner exchange.
Rachel and Jon waited as 108 Hamas hostages were released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Hersh was not one of them.
Rachel told CBS they were in "anguish and despair" when realising Hersh was one of eight American citizens among the 130 still held hostage in Gaza.
That week Jon was among many relatives who met with the Israel war cabinet and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging them to resume negotiations.
"I don't know that the cabinet needed to have a flame lit under them to get these hostages out," Jon told CBS. "But if they did, it happens today."
Hersh's video
Rachel and Jon described being "overwhelmed" when seeing a video released by Hamas of their son with a missing lower arm.
The short, undated video showed Hersh otherwise apparently healthy.
He was shown saying he had sustained serious injuries during the October 7 attack "after I tried using my body as a shield to protect myself and other fearful civilians".
"We're relieved to see him alive but we're also concerned about his health and wellbeing as well as that of all of the other hostages and all of those suffering in this region," Jon said in a video message.
"We're here today with a plea to all of the leaders of the parties who have been negotiating to date. That includes Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Hamas and Israel. Be brave, lean in, seize this moment and get a deal done.
"And Hersh, if you can hear this, we heard your voice today for the first time in 201 days and if you can hear us, I am telling you, we are telling you, we love you, stay strong, survive.”
Video sparks protests
Scuffles erupted in a Jerusalem protest on Wednesday as angry Israelis took the streets to demand the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, after the release of Hersh's video.
Protesters lit bonfires and raised their hands, painted red, while chanting "Bring them all back home".
Police scuffled with demonstrators and detained some of them.
The police also escorted Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to his car through the crowd of chanting protesters.
ABC/Wires
