JERUSALEM — An Israeli-American family that has become an international icon in the fight to free hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip buried their son on Monday, who was reportedly killed by militants as soldiers approached the place where he was being held.

Thousands of people gathered at a Jerusalem cemetery to pay tribute to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose face has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the nearly year-long hostage crisis.

Mourners gathered around the car as the 23-year-old’s family left their Jerusalem home, and crowds, many flying Israeli flags or wearing the colors of Goldberg-Polin’s favorite soccer team, lined Jerusalem’s main thoroughfare as the car headed to the cemetery. Mourners laid wreaths at the foot of the coffin and sang a prayer.

Many in the crowd burst into sobs as his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, said goodbye to him and said, “Finally, finally, finally you are free!”

She and her husband Jon shared stories about their son, who they said was funny, curious and relentless in his pursuit of justice. They said they hoped his death could at least be a turning point in the protracted negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

“We failed you, we all failed you. You wouldn’t have failed us,” Jon said. “Maybe your death is the stone, the fuel that brings home the 101 other hostages.”

“We are sorry, Hersh, we are sorry we could not bring you back to life,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in his funeral eulogy.

The Israeli military announced on Sunday that the bodies of Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages had been discovered in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.

His U.S.-born parents, Jon and Rachel, have become two of the most high-profile hostage relatives on the international stage. In their desperate bid to free their son, they have met with U.S. President Joe Biden, Pope Francis and others. They have also addressed the United Nations and the Democratic National Convention, calling for the release of all hostages.

The Berkeley, California-born man was attending a music festival when Hamas militants swept into southern Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.

Goldberg-Polin lost part of his left arm in a grenade blast during the attack that started the devastating war that has lasted nearly 11 months. In April, Hamas released a video, filmed under duress, showing him without his left arm, sparking new protests in Israel calling on the government to do more to ensure his freedom and that of others.

Israeli forensic experts say the six hostages were killed by close-range gunfire on Thursday or Friday, shortly before Israeli soldiers reached the tunnel in southern Gaza where they were being held. Their deaths sparked mass protests in Israel, with many saying the hostages could have been saved alive if a ceasefire agreement had been reached.

Three of the six hostages found dead — including Goldberg-Polin — were reportedly to have been released under the first phase of a ceasefire proposal discussed in July.

Since then, negotiations have failed to produce an agreement. Hamas accuses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging out the talks by making new demands, including permanent Israeli control of two strategic corridors in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has demanded an end to the war, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including prominent militants.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the deaths of the six people, saying that “whoever murders hostages does not want any agreement.”

Their deaths sparked anger and frustration among Israelis, who organised mass protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as soon as the news broke.

Protesters blocked a major Tel Aviv highway in midday Monday, and Israel’s largest labor union, the Histadrut, called a general strike on Monday, its first since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, to pressure the government into a deal.

Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin have become icons in Israel and around the world as they fight for their son’s freedom. Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s daily ritual of wearing a piece of masking tape with the number of days her son has been held captive has been widely adopted by other hostage families and supporters at protests across Israel as the number of days has grown.

On Monday, Rachel Goldberg-Polin said the past 330 days had been “such agony that my throat felt tight and my soul burned with third-degree burns.”

“I don’t have to worry about you anymore, you’re not in danger anymore,” she said. “You fought to survive, and now you’re gone.”