The Palestinian group Hamas published a video this Monday in which three Israeli women supposedly held captive in the Gaza Strip blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the attack by the Islamists on October 7 and demand that he negotiate the release of prisoners.
Addressing the head of the Israeli government, one of the women shouted in Hebrew: “Free us now, free the citizens from them, free the prisoners from them, let us return to our families.”
(Also read: Israel expands ground operations in Gaza; Hamas publishes video of three hostages).
“There was supposed to be a ceasefire. You promised to free us,” accuses the woman, the only one of the three who speaks in the video, which lasts 77 seconds.
“You are killing us, you want to kill us”he adds, and accuses the president of not having protected the communities near Gaza during the Hamas attack on October 7, which left more than 1,400 dead in Israel, more than 5,400 injured and 239 hostages held captive in the enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the video “cruel psychological propaganda.” In a message published by his office, Netanyahu addresses the kidnapped women directly and tells them that he sends them a hug and emphasizes that “everything possible will be done to return all the kidnapped and missing people home.”
(You may be interested: Israel warns the inhabitants of Gaza that the area is now a ‘battlefield’).
“I am addressing Elena Trupanov, Danielle Aloni and Rimon Kirsht (the three hostages who appear in the video), who were kidnapped by Hamas, which commits war crimes. I send you a hug. Our hearts are with you and with the other hostages .
Until now, The identity of the women who appear in the video has not been revealed and Israel has not confirmed that they are indeed hostages in the hands of the Islamist group..
The message released today represents the second video published by Hamas through its Telegram social network channel, following the broadcast two weeks ago of a recorded message from a young Israeli saying that she was fine and asking to be released.
(Keep reading: Israeli Ambassador to Colombia responds to criticism of operation in the Gaza Strip).
On the other hand, the publication of this video coincides this Monday with the advance of Israeli ground troops into Gaza, even reaching the outskirts of Gaza City.
The Army spokesperson reported that its troops killed four prominent Hamas militants today and that “several terrorist cells that tried to attack the forces were neutralized by the troops, with the support of Air Force helicopters and drones.”
In recent days, the Israeli Defense Forces say they have attacked 600 targets in Gaza, including weapons warehouses, dozens of anti-tank missile launchers and hideouts of Hamas, which controls the Strip.
Netanyahu stated this Monday that The army is advancing “methodically” in its military operation against the Islamist group.
🇵🇸🇮🇱 | NOW: Al Jazeera: “Al Jazeera has decided not to show the video of the captives released by Hamas. In the video, one of the captives addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly. It is not clear if these were his words or if it was coerced.” pic.twitter.com/unBpFQJui5
— Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) October 30, 2023
The Israeli armed forces “extended their land entry into the Gaza Strip, they are doing so in moderate and very powerful stages, advancing methodically step by step,” the president said at the beginning of a meeting of his cabinet.
(We recommend: Israel reaffirms its plans to invade the Gaza Strip: ‘There will be ground intervention.’)
In parallel, The militias of the enclave continued today with the launching of rockets towards Israeli territory, especially towards the communities near Gaza but also towards the city of Jerusalem, where the anti-aircraft alarms were activated for the first time in more than two weeks.
The war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 with the attack by the Palestinian Islamist group on Israeli soil.
Since then, the Israeli Army has bombed Gaza in retaliation, and on Friday expanded ground operations, which has left more than 8,300 dead and more than 21,000 injured.
EFE
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