In a recent move aimed at exerting pressure on the Israeli government, Hamas has released a video featuring three Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The video was disseminated via social media on Monday, while Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued their operations in the region and advanced towards Gaza City.
The women who appeared in the video are believed to have done so under duress. This action runs contrary to the Geneva Conventions, which strictly prohibit the taking of hostages.
Hamas provided a description for the video, stating, “A number of Zionist prisoners held by Al-Qassam send a message to Netanyahu and the Zionist government.”
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the video as “cruel psychological propaganda.” The three women were identified as Daniel Aloni, Rimon Kirsht, and Elena Trupanov. Netanyahu expressed his support for them, stating, “I embrace you; our hearts are with you and the other captives.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organization representing the families of abductees, announced that a press conference would be held later in Tel Aviv on Monday.
The 76-second video displayed the three women sitting in plastic chairs, facing the camera against a tiled wall backdrop. They showed no visible signs of injury. The woman in the center was the sole speaker, directly addressing the camera. She revealed that they had been in captivity for 23 days, indicating that the video was recorded shortly after Hamas militants entered southern Israel on October 7, resulting in over 1,400 casualties and more than 220 abductions.
The central speaker accused the Israeli government, especially Netanyahu, of failing to protect her community during the Hamas attack. She pleaded for the release of the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, emphasizing the innocence of their group as Israeli citizens who pay taxes. She implored, “Let their citizens go, let their prisoners go. Free us. Free all of us. Let us return to our families now!”
The other two women remained mostly silent during the video. One averted her gaze from the camera, while the other occasionally glanced at it.
Hamas has proposed the release of the hostages in exchange for approximately 5,000 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli prisons. However, Netanyahu has rejected an immediate swap, instead opting to intensify the offensive in Gaza as a means of pressuring Hamas into making concessions.
The prime minister denounced the video and pledged to make every effort to secure the safe return of the hostages. He concluded his remarks by saying, “Our heart is with you.”
In a separate development, the family of Shani Louk, a 22-year-old Israeli-German whose fate was closely associated with the mass abductions, confirmed her death, believing her to have been killed during the October 7 attack.
