The families of several Israeli female soldiers taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 released video of their abduction in an attempt to pressure the Israeli government to revive apparently stalled cease-fire talks that could pave the way for the captivesтАЩ release.
Family members first saw the footage a few weeks ago via the Israeli military, which formally handed them a copy on Tuesday night, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of hostages held captive in Gaza.
тАЬIтАЩm asking you, please show this clip every day, open your broadcasts with it,тАЭ Eli Albag, whose daughter Liri Albag can be seen in the video, said in a television interview with IsraelтАЩs Channel 12. тАЬUntil somebody wakes up, the nation wakes up, and realizes that theyтАЩve been abandoned there for 229 days.тАЭ
Some Israeli politicians immediately seized on the images to try to rebuff the decision by Ireland, Norway, and Spain to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. Israel Katz, the foreign minister, said he would screen the footage during a тАЬsevere reprimandтАЭ of the countriesтАЩ ambassadors.
In the three-minute edited collection of videos, which were verified by The New York Times, Palestinian fighters, some wearing Hamas headbands, can be seen binding the hands of five Israeli women who served as lookouts at Nahal Oz, a military base near the Gaza border. At least two of the hostagesтАЩ faces are bloodied, and they appear to be wearing pajamas. The militants repeatedly threaten the women.
One of the militants calls the women тАЬdogs,тАЭ vowing to crush them. One of the women can be heard telling the militants that she had тАЬa friend in Palestine,тАЭ even as another begs to know if any of them speak English.
In a statement, Hamas said that the scenes presented in the edited video тАЬcould not be confirmed.тАЭ The group also claimed that a translation provided by the Israeli authorities was incorrect and included phrases тАЬthat were not said by any of the fighters who appeared in the video.тАЭ
Talks to secure the release of the more than 125 hostages still being held in Gaza, some have been at a standstill since Israel began its assault on the southern city of Rafah in early May. Israeli forces operating in northern Gaza retrieved the bodies of four Israelis abducted on Oct. 7, heightening fears for the remaining captives.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified the Israeli hostage soldiers in the video as Naama Levy, Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev and Daniela Gilboa, all aged 19 or 20. The footage was recorded by body cameras worn by the Hamas militants who abducted them, the organization said.
Families of hostages met with senior Israeli leaders on Wednesday, including Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, and Benny Gantz, a member of the countryтАЩs war cabinet, in an attempt to lobby for an immediate agreement with Hamas.
тАЬThe video is a damning testament to the nationтАЩs failure to bring home the hostages, who have been forsaken for 229 days,тАЭ the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
In a statement on social media, Mr. Gantz said he was appalled by the footage of the five hostagesтАЩ abduction, and vowed to make тАЬdifficult decisionsтАЭ if necessary in order to bring home the remaining captives in Gaza.
Yair Lapid, the leader of IsraelтАЩs parliamentary opposition, said the video was тАЬa reminder to the world of the evil we are fighting in Gaza.тАЭ
Dmitriy Khavin, Alexander Cardia and Riley Mellen contributed reporting.
