"For it to end in this horrific way...there are just no words for it." said Alan Mindel, Board Chair of the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County, about the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

The 23-year-old Israeli American, whose funeral was held Monday in Israel, was one of the six hostages found dead in a tunnel in Gaza.

Mindel tells News 12 he went to school in Israel years ago with Hersh's father and since Hersh was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, Mindell and others who went to the school have been part of a social media group, praying for Hersh's return and supporting his parents.

"There was this beautiful child, young adult, who had so much to live for and has been taken from so many people that loved him. It's just a horrific feeling for so many of us." said Mindell.