'We all failed you.' Heartbreak at funeral for Israeli-American hostage in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli-American family that became an international symbol in the struggle to free hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza laid their son to rest on Monday after the discovery of his body and those of five others brought a fresh outpouring of grief.

Tens of thousands of people thronged a Jerusalem cemetery to pay their respects to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who became one of the most recognizable faces of the nearly year-old hostage crisis. Hundreds of others lined a major thoroughfare in Jerusalem, holding Israeli flags.

Many sobbed as his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, said goodbye to her son and told him, “My sweet boy, finally, finally, finally you are free!”

She and her husband, Jon, shared stories of their 23-year-old son, who they called funny, curious and relentless in the pursuit of justice. They said they hoped his death might be a turning point in drawn-out negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin said the past 330 days had been “such torment that closed my throat and made my soul burn with third-degree burns.” She told her son: “I no longer need to worry about you, you are no longer in danger."

His father added: “We failed you, we all failed you. ... Maybe your death is the stone, the fuel, that will bring home the 101 other hostages.”

Israel’s military announced Sunday that the bodies of Goldberg-Polin and the five others had been discovered in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forensics experts said they had been shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday, shortly before Israeli troops reached the tunnel in southern Gaza where they were held.

Their deaths sparked protests by hundreds of thousands of people in Israel, with many saying the hostages could have been returned alive if a cease-fire deal had been reached.

Three of the six hostages, including Goldberg-Polin, were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal discussed in July.

“I apologize on behalf of the state of Israel that we failed to protect you in the terrible disaster of Oct. 7, that we failed to bring you home safely,” Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in a eulogy.

Goldberg-Polin, a native of Berkeley, California, was attending a music festival when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. He lost part of his left arm to a grenade blast during the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video, showed him speaking under duress with his left hand missing, sparking new protests in Israel.

Hamas accuses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging out cease-fire talks by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over two strategic corridors in Gaza. Netanyahu claimed on Monday night he has accepted Biden’s previous proposals and blamed Hamas for the lack of progress.

Netanyahu also has blamed Hamas for the deaths of Goldberg-Polin and the five others, saying “whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.”

Smaller protests continued in Israel on Monday, and Israel’s largest trade union held a general strike, the first since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, to pressure the government for a deal.

Goldberg-Polin’s U.S.-born parents became two of the most high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage. They met with U.S. President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and others. They addressed the United Nations and the Democratic National Convention, urging the release of all hostages.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin ended many speeches with a message for her son: “We love you, stay strong, survive.”

At the funeral, she echoed the plea she had made for months in the hope that somehow he could hear.

“And Hersh, there’s one last thing I need you to do for us,” she said. "Now, I need you to help us stay strong, and I need you to help us survive.”

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Israel's President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal attend the funeral of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via AP)

Mourners gather for the burial of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, attend their son's funeral in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via AP)

Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, attend their son's funeral in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via AP)

Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via AP)

Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents, and sisters Orly and Leebie of killed US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin whose body was recovered with five other hostages in Gaza, speak during the funeral in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via AP)

People light candles during a vigil in memory of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem, Israel, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

This combination of six undated photos shows hostages, from top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, from bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat, who were held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza. On Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, the Hostages Families Forum announced their deaths while in Hamas captivity. (The Hostages Families Forum via AP)

Mourners wave Israeli flags as they accompany the family of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, on their way to his funeral in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Israel said Sunday it recovered the bodies of six hostages, including Goldberg-Polin's. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners wave Israeli flags as they accompany the family of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, on their way to his funeral in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Israel said Sunday it recovered the bodies of six hostages, including Goldberg-Polin's. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A mourner comforts Jon Polin, left, father of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, on his way to his son's funeral in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Israel said Sunday it recovered the bodies of six hostages, including Goldberg-Polin's. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners wave Israeli flags as they accompany the family of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, on their way to his funeral in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. Israel said Sunday it recovered the bodies of six hostages, including Goldberg-Polin's. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — England and English soccer teams could be removed from UEFA competitions if a new regulator is considered to be “Government interference” in the sport.

In a letter sent by UEFA to the U.K.'s new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, European soccer's governing body raised concerns about a proposed independent football regulator (IFR) in English soccer. The regulatory will ensure the financial sustainability of clubs and stop teams from joining breakaway competitions like the European Super League.

UEFA regulations state there should be no government interference in the running of soccer.

“We have specific rules that guard against this in order to guarantee the autonomy of sport and fairness of sporting competition; the ultimate sanction for which would be excluding the federation from UEFA and teams from competition,” UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote in his letter, which has been seen by The Associated Press.

England, which has been runner-up in the last two European Championships, is co-hosting the 2028 edition of the tournament.

If UEFA imposed its ultimate sanction of excluding the English Football Association, the England team would be barred from competing in the Euros. It could also mean Premier League clubs being barred from the Champions League and other competitions.

The U.K. government’s Football Governance Bill would give an independent regulator powersto safeguard the future of clubs. It includes strengthened tests over who can run or own clubs.

In its letter, UEFA said “normally football regulation should be managed by the national federation.”

It said it was concerned by what it described as “scope creep” by a regulator into areas beyond “the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.”

UEFA said if all countries established regulators with wide-reaching powers it would hinder its ability to maintain effective governance across Europe. It wants England's regulator to be “strictly limited” to the long-term financial sustainability of clubs and heritage assets.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - The UEFA Euro trophy is pictured after Britain and Ireland were elected to host the Euro 2028 football tournament during the the UEFA EURO 2028 and 2032 hosts announcement ceremony after the UEFA Executive Committee, at UEFA Headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland, Oct. 10, 2023. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP, File)