Hamas on Monday published a video purportedly showing three women among the more than 230 persons Israel claims were kidnapped and brought to Gaza during the October 7 attacks.
The women in the 76-second video were referred to as “Zionist detainees” by the Palestinian Islamist group, but their identities could not be confirmed immediately.
One of the ladies, sitting on plastic chairs against a white tile wall, encourages Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a prisoner exchange in exchange for the release of all detainees.
She becomes angry while speaking in Hebrew and begins shouting, almost screaming by the end, while the other two sitting on either side of her remain mute.
When hundreds of Hamas terrorists poured across the border into southern Israel and attacked kibbutz communities, cities, and military bases, the captives were taken. Their ages range from a few months to more than 80 years.
Authorities think they are being detained in the besieged territory’s vast network of underground tunnels created by Hamas.
According to Israel, 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the bloodiest attacks in Israeli history, prompting Israel’s military to launch the current Gaza conflict.
According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, Israeli air and ground assaults have killed over 8,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, with more than half of them being women and children.
The Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to the video.
Faced with mounting public criticism over the captives, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accused the terrorists of engaging in “psychological games” over the hostages’ fate on Sunday.
Hamas published a video of Israeli-French hostage Mia Shem on October 16.
