Today marks the one-year anniversary when the world watched in horror as Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization, unleash an unprovoked act of unprecedented savagery killing, injuring, and raping men, women, children, and babies. That day, nearly 1,200 innocent lives were massacred, and over 250 people from 71 different countries — including many Americans — were abducted and held hostage. Thousands of families have been forever wounded and deeply impacted by this barbaric and tragic act that is simply un-defendable. We join with the families on this day in sorrow and grief for those that were killed, the survivors, and those that remain alive in captivity. On behalf of my entire team and our families, please accept our heartfelt support on this dark day. Know that we are with you always and you are in our hearts and prayers every day.
October 7th was not a battle; it was sheer terrorism targeting civilians, many of them children, perpetrated by men who have manipulated a narrative of justification. Raping mothers in front of their children is simply never justified; nor is hostage taking or the many other tactics used and still in use. There are dozens of hostages hidden in dark rooms, underground, trying to stay alive with their very lives in the hands of murderers for 365 days today. Many of these are Americans. October 7th was a dark day for so many but so many remain in the dark while being held hostage.
Over the past year, Hamas has gone on to brutalize and exploit the hostages, using videos of their suffering as a fundraising and propaganda tool in addition to the inherit leverage gained by the hostage takers. Hamas has kept the hostages in depraved conditions before savagely executing many of them – including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American citizen who was killed while in Hamas custody earlier this year. These acts prove that Hamas has no interest in peace and that the pursuit of a ceasefire is a fallacy. Hersh, already wounded, was murdered in cold blood as Israeli Defense Forces closed in on his location. To Hamas, civilians are nothing more than bargaining chips and social media “click bait”. When their leverage slipped, they revealed their true nature by ordering Hersh’s execution and that of five other innocent hostages. Hersh, an American kid, was summarily executed without any hesitation by his captors. Some Americans believe this war has nothing to do with America; I think Hersh would disagree with that. Anyone who holds hostages are simply weak and cowardly.
At Grey Bull Rescue, my team and I are all too familiar with the cruel realities of hostage situations and this brutal war. Hersh’s case is deeply personal for us because we were actively working to rescue him up until the day he was killed. Of our more than 600 rescue missions across the globe, our hostage rescue cases are the hardest and toughest to handle because we know the family is suffering with their loved one in captivity. Kirillo Alexandrov’s mother Gloria, who has spoken with Hersh’s family often, sat in Poland for 37 days begging and praying that my team and I would get her son out of captivity. This past January, we rescued five American kids being held captive in Gaza. In every one of our cases there is the person being held in unspeakable conditions, then there are the mothers, fathers, and children of the hostages who feel the pain in their bones. My team and I know firsthand the unspeakable pain endured by the loved ones of hostage victims. These families are emotionally tortured and held hostage by uncertainty, fear, and relentless grief. And when terrorists, like Hamas, decide that a hostage’s life no longer serves their political agenda, the results are horrific. A key tenet of my teams philosophy is to bring hope when all hope is lost. When hostages are held and executed, it is most terrible because all hope is truly lost, and life becomes a series of tear-filled stories of the past without any hope of stories of the future.
In January of this year a teammate and I, backed by our team of career Special Operations senior officers, rescued five American children from Tampa, Florida who were kidnapped in Gaza. They were held for months and months without any hope. These are the only Americans being held captive in Gaza to be rescued. We were overjoyed to get them from the clutches of a mad man in Gaza. Their mother cried as we got them to her safely. Hersh’s mother and so many others will never have that feeling. Many more mothers and fathers are praying for that day to hug their child who is being held.
When my team and I watched in horror at the events of October 7th, we launched overseas immediately because we knew it would be bad. Just like in Afghanistan in 2021, I knew it would be bad, to what extent was the question. I never thought it would be as bad as it was, the death to be so rampant, the pain to be so deep, or the destruction to be so animalistic. My team and I deployed, in the fear of uncertainty with the threat of Hamas missiles raining on us. Then the calls for help from Americans trying to flee came. We evacuated 293 Americans by plane with the help of funding from the State of Florida. On the day of the evacuation, we were taking Hamas missile fire on our way to the aircraft with the Iron Dome activated overhead. Every one of the 293 evacuees were scared, mostly American children, and we were nervous. Our mission was to get our people to safety, and my small, four-man team did that. At the same time, we had already started working the hostages not knowing who was being held versus who was missing. October 7th was terrible in every way for everyone involved.
Let’s be absolutely clear, speaking from actual boots on ground experience – which most people do not have – Hamas has no interest in peace. They are not freedom fighters. They are murderers who hide behind civilians and slaughter innocents to further their twisted goals hidden through false narrative after false narrative. The massacre of October 7, 2023, was not an act of war but an assault on humanity. Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike were slaughtered and butchered by Hamas fighters like they were cattle. The audio has them laughing and proud. Hamas actually sustained very few casualties that day which means most people they attacked were unarmed. Soldiers defending their country, people, or even religion don’t act this way. Terrorists have one goal – to target civilians to achieve a political gain. Hamas sits squarely in this definition. My team and I will NEVER sit idly by while terrorists take the lives of the innocent, especially Americans, for clicks, headlines, and political gain.
We, at Grey Bull Rescue, support all means necessary to bring hostages home. But make no mistake, Hamas has shown time and again they are not interested in negotiating in good faith. They traffic in fear and death. This leaves the world with few options. The hard truth is, that when terrorists take hostages, they do so to leverage lives for power — and when that power fades, so do the lives of those in captivity.
We believe that every option should be on the table when it comes to bringing hostages home. However, the barbaric actions of Hamas show that their true objectives are rooted in violence and destruction, not peace. Their refusal to negotiate in good faith leaves little room for diplomatic resolution and forces world leaders into tragic decisions where force may become the only option left to save lives.
Grey Bull Rescue remains committed to doing everything in our power to rescue American hostages and others in peril, even though we acknowledge the heart-wrenching difficulties of these missions. Hersh’s execution reminds us of the complexities, urgency, and life-or-death stakes involved in every rescue operation.
As we honor the memory of Hersh Polin and the thousands of others who have suffered or perished since October 7th, let us be reminded of the need for unwavering commitment to peace and justice.
We stand united in our resolve to continue rescuing those in harm’s way, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families enduring this unfathomable pain.
Bryan Stern
Chairman and Founder, Grey Bull Rescue
