Women held hostage by Hamas scream 'let us go' and slam Netanyahu in new video
Hamas has today released a video that purports to show three hostages held in captivity in Gaza since October 7.
The three women can be seen sitting next to each other in front of a white wall and while only one of them talks to the camera, the other two are by her side for the duration of the clip. They appear distressed as one of them talks, asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release them "right now" and calling for a prisoner swap.
In the video, she also accuses Netanyahu of failing to act on October 7 and now failing to rescue the hostages by imposing a ceasefire. According to online translation servers and a translation published by The Jerusalem Post, the woman 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."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP)Follow along with our live blog here.
She then goes on to accuse the Israeli PM of "political and national neglect" and adds that they are "innocent citizens who pay taxes to the State of Israel". Screaming towards the camera while the other two women appear distressed too, she says: "It isn't enough that Israeli citizens were killed. Let us go. Let us go now... Let us return to our families now!"
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After the video was released, Netanyahu, addressing the hostages by name - Yelena Tropnov, Danielle Aloni, and Rimon Kirshst - said they were the victims of "cruel psychological manipulation by Hamas". He added: "We embrace the families. We are doing everything to bring all the captives and missing individuals back home."
Palestinians evacuate a building destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah (AP)The clip was published amid calls by Hamas for a ceasefire after the Health Ministry said more than 8,000 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli airstrikes. Last week, a senior Hamas official told NBC News that militants would be willing to release all civilian hostages "in one hour" if the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stopped attacks in the Gaza Strip and if all Palestinians detained by Israel were released.
An estimated 6,600 Palestinians are being held in Israeli jails, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Before the conflict, more than 5,000 Palestinians were detained in Israeli jails. Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, at least 1,590 more Palestinians have been detained, reports Al Jazeera.
So far, Hamas has released four hostages - two American-Israeli citizens and two elderly Israeli women. Two weeks ago, Hamas released a video of Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli woman held hostage in Gaza, lying on a bed with her right arm bandaged. Speaking to the camera, the woman said she was injured and taken to Gaza while pleading to be returned to her family.
It comes as the Health Ministry in Gaza said 304 people were killed over the past day, raising the death toll since the conflict began to 8,306. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said Monday that the number of people wounded since October 7 has reached 21,048.
He said the dead include 3,457 children and 2,136 women, adding that there are about 1,950 people still missing under the rubble.
Al-Qudra urged people to head to medical centers in Gaza to donate blood of all types. He said the Israeli bombardment has been getting closer to medical centers and hospitals such as the Turkish Friendship hospital that specialises in treating people who have cancer.
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