The Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Monday released a video of the Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud, whose delayed release had been at the center of one of the most significant disputes between Israel and Hamas since a cease-fire took effect a week ago.
Ms. Yehud is believed to be one of the last remaining female civilians held in Gaza since about 250 people were abducted during the Hamas-led attacks on Israel of Oct. 7, 2023.
In the video footage, which an analysis by The New York Times dates to Jan. 25, she says, “My family, I’m OK. I miss you endlessly and I hope to return to you soon, like the girls who had been released.”
Rights groups and international law experts have noted that, by definition, such hostage videos are made under duress, and that the statements in them are usually coerced.
Or Moshe, a spokeswoman for the Hostage Families Forum, an umbrella organization representing the families of captives in Gaza, confirmed the footage was of Ms. Yehud, and said it was the first video of the hostage since she was taken from Nir Oz, a kibbutz in Israel, in 2023.
Ms. Yehud was to be among the first two groups of hostages released on Jan. 19 and Jan. 25 during the first phase of the provisional cease-fire agreement, according to the Israeli authorities. Israel had demanded that its female civilians be released before captive female soldiers.
Hamas released Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19. All four were abducted from the military base near Gaza where they served. In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. But not Ms. Yehud.
The delay had stalled Israel’s expected withdrawal eastward along the Netzarim Corridor, an occupation zone in the Gaza Strip that Israel set up at the onset of the war. And the Israeli prime minister’s office had said Israel would not allow Gazans to pass to the north of the strip until plans were set for the release of Ms. Yehud.
Ms. Yehud was seized from her home in Nir Oz, in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza, during the Hamas-led attack. At the time, she was 28. She was kidnapped along with her partner, Ariel Cunio, who is believed to still be held captive in Gaza.
Ms. Yehud’s brother, Dolev Yehud, who was missing for months and assumed to have been kidnapped, too, was declared dead by the Israeli authorities in June, after his remains were identified in Nir Oz. The communal village had a population of about 400 people before the 2023 attack, during which more than a quarter of its population were killed or kidnapped.
The video of Ms. Yehud was shared on Monday on a Telegram channel belonging to the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In the footage, she is shown wearing a thick gray undershirt and a dark hoodie. Facing the camera, she states her date of birth and identification number, and addresses her family.
Israeli officials had said they believed she was not being held by Hamas, and had suggested that another militant group was responsible for the holdup.
An official with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad told The Times on Sunday that Ms. Yehud would be released before next Saturday. Israel eventually began allowing displaced Palestinians to move north on Monday morning. Thousands took the opportunity to make the long trek home.
The next hostage-for-prisoner swap is expected later this week.
Arijeta Lajka and Isabel Kershner contributed reporting.
