Counting the days: Families of Hamas hostages prepare to mark loved ones' 100th day in captivity

Every morning, before she’s even out of her pajamas, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tears a piece of masking tape off the roll, grabs a pen and writes the number of days her son has been held hostage in Gaza

LONDON -- It has become a daily ritual.

Every morning, before she’s even out of her pajamas, Rachel Goldberg-Polin tears a piece of masking tape off the roll, grabs a marking pen and in thick black strokes writes down the number of days her son, Hersh, has been held hostage by Hamas militants. Then she sticks the tape to her chest.

“I find it so remarkable how nauseating it is every single time,’’ she said. “And it’s good. I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want anybody to get used to the fact that these people are missing.’’

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was last seen Oct. 7, when militants loaded him into the back of a pickup truck with other people who were abducted from a southern Israel music festival where over 300 attendees were killed. The native of Berkeley, California, lost part of an arm when the attackers tossed grenades into the shelter where a group of young people had taken refuge.

Sunday will mark 100 days since he and about 250 others were taken hostage by the militants who stormed across the border from Gaza, triggering the latest war between Israel and Hamas. While dozens of women, children and foreigners were released during a weeklong November cease-fire, and a number of hostages have been confirmed dead, 132 others remain in captivity. The Red Cross hasn’t been permitted to see them, and almost nothing is known about their conditions.