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On Aug. 25, J. staff photographer Aaron Levy-Wolins headed to Berkeley to take pictures of a rally calling for the release of East Bay native Hersh Goldberg-Polin and the other hostages still held by Hamas. One week later, Aaron was back in Berkeley, this time to photograph a memorial service for Hersh, the American Israeli who in the intervening days had been brutally murdered by Hamas in a Gaza tunnel, along with five other hostages.

News from Israel always comes at breakneck speed. This past week it seemed to come faster than ever. Yet somehow, at the very same time, it also feels as if we are suspended in time. Israel is still fighting in Gaza. The hostages are still held captive. Days pass, but the sense of gnawing dread remains the same.

It was only Aug. 21 when Hersh’s parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, stood before the Democratic National Convention to tell the world about their son. They were greeted with a standing ovation and a spontaneous chorus of “Bring them home! Bring them home!” Ten days later, news broke that their son would not be coming home alive.

His parents’ steadfast, dignified international advocacy had made the 23-year-old’s face one of the most recognizable among the hostages. His sweet smile became an avatar for all those still held captive. Perhaps that’s why his death hits so hard.

In April, Hamas released a video showing Hersh, against all odds, alive — and it felt for a moment that time was slowing down. Suddenly, there was hope for all the hostages. If he could survive, even after losing part of his arm in the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage, maybe they all could.

Whether the murders of these six hostages impacts the strategic calculus in Israel or Gaza remains to be seen. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets after the killings to demand that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a deal with Hamas to bring the remaining hostages home. According to initial reports, Netanyahu was holding firm to his demand that Israel maintain a presence in the strategic Philadelphi corridor in the south of Gaza. Then a new report emerged: The U.S. said that Netanyahu was softening that demand.

Things change fast in the Middle East. By the time you read this, the situation will likely have changed again. But one thing feels certain: Now that Hersh is gone, the hope he represented seems pitched on less solid ground. In closing that video in April, Hersh addressed his family. “I know you are doing your best to get me home as soon as possible,” he said. “I expect and hope to see you very soon.”

If only it were so. Baruch dayan ha’emet.