TEL AVIV: Terrorist group Hamas on Monday released a video in which three women kidnapped by the terrorist group are purportedly seen appealing to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire as it would facilitate their release from Hamas captivity, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The video, released on Hamas’s social networks, was described as “a number of Zionist prisoners held by Al-Qassam send a message to Netanyahu and the Zionist government”.
The women in the video are seen accusing PM Netanyahu of failing to act on October 7 to stop the Hamas massacre and was now failing to rescue hostages by enacting a ceasefire.
The women were identified as Yelena Tropanov, Danielle Aloni, and Rimon Kirscht.
Tropanov was kidnapped on October 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her mother, her son, and her son’s girlfriend. Her husband was murdered.
Kirsht was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nirim with her husband while Aloni was taken from Nir Oz with her daughter, sister, brother-in-law, and her two twin nieces.
In the video, a woman sitting in the middle, purportedly says, “Hello, Bibi Netanyahu. We have been in Hamas captivity for 23 days. Yesterday, there was a press conference with the families of the hostages. We know that there was supposed to be a ceasefire. You were supposed to release all of us. You made a commitment to release all of us.”
She accused the prime minister of “political and national neglect” and of “screwing up” on October 7, as per The Jerusalem Post.
The hostage says: “No military was there. Nobody came. Nobody heard us. We are innocent citizens. Citizens who pay taxes to the State of Israel. You want to kill us all. You want to kill us all using the IDF.”
“It isn’t enough that Israeli citizens were killed. Let us go. Let us go now… Let us return to our families now!” she continues. Netanyahu responded to the video, releasing a statement in which he addressed the women by their names.
“This is a cruel psychological manipulation by Hamas and ISIS,” he said, adding, “We embrace the families. We are doing everything to bring all the captives and missing individuals back home.”
The video was released against the backdrop of repeated calls by Hamas for a ceasefire after its Health Ministry said more than 8,000 Gazans have been killed in Israeli strikes.
A senior Hamas official told NBC News last week that the terrorist group would be willing to release all civilian hostages “in one hour” if the IDF would cease attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and if all Palestinians detained by Israel were released, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Over the weekend, Israel upped its offensive, entering the Strip with tanks and carrying out attacks by land as well.
In the initial days of the Israel-Hamas war, the terrorist group released a video of a young woman, Mia Schem, who was also captured by Hamas.
At the beginning of the video, she is purportedly seen receiving medical treatment, and afterwards, she is filmed speaking directly to the camera, claiming, “I was severely injured in the hand, they took me to Gaza and treated me for three hours. They are taking care of me, treating me well, and giving me medications; everything is okay.”
“I request that you bring me back home as soon as possible, to my parents, to my siblings. Please get us out of here as quickly as possible,” she said.
The veracity of the video could not be ascertained.
So far, Hamas has released four hostages — two American-Israeli citizens and two elderly Israeli women. (ANI)