The video, whose date of recording cannot be verified, shows a young man asking to pressure the Israeli government for his release and that of all the hostages still held captive in Gaza.
The armed wing of Hamas published on Saturday a new video of one of the hostages captured on October 7, 2023 during the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement in Israel from the Gaza Strip.
The family of the young man, Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American who celebrated his 20th birthday during his captivity, authorized the publication of the video. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed movement which participated in the October 7 attack, have already broadcast hostage videos in the past.
“This video shocked me, but beyond the hope it gives us, it shows how bad the situation of Edan and the other hostages is and how much they are screaming and hoping to be saved now“reacted her mother, Yael Alexander, while speaking during a rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called her and told her:promised that the conditions for an agreement are close“, she said.
“I turn to you, you must keep your promise and set them free“, she added, addressing him at the rally. “This state is strong enough to end the war and bring them all back, including my Edan“.
Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement:a video of cruel psychological terror“, asserting that “Israel is acting with determination and by all means to bring them home.” The United States called this video “cruel reminder that Hamas terrorizes many countries, including ours“, in a statement released Saturday by the White House.
“The war in Gaza would end tomorrow and the suffering of Gazans would end immediately – and would have ended months ago – if Hamas agreed to release the hostages“, added Washington, promising to “increase the pressure” on the Islamist movement.
“The shocking video of Edan, an Israeli-American citizen, is clear proof that despite the rumors, there are still hostages alive and suffering greatly“, commented the Hostage Families Forum, a collective bringing together the majority of families of hostages in Gaza. “We can only bring back the hostages by agreement“added the Forum in a press release.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, only one week-long truce has come into effect, in November 2023, during which 105 hostages were released as part of an agreement which also allowed the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Since then, seven hostages have been released by the Israeli army. Among the hostages, there are still foreigners, six Thais and a Nepalese, and several dual nationals.
During the unprecedented attack by Hamas commandos on October 7, 2023, 251 people were kidnapped on Israeli soil. A total of 97 hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the army.
Israel Gaza Hamas Conflict in the Middle East
