Hamas has released a video showing three hostages it says are being held in Gaza, and said it would soon announce their fate, in an apparent attempt to put more pressure on Israeli authorities to secure their release, perhaps through another cease-fire.
The video, which was released on Sunday but was undated, shows Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, speaking to a camera in front of a white background.
The hostages identify themselves by name in the video, which is just over 30 seconds long. It ends with a caption that reads: “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”
The video appears to have been shot indoors, but it was not immediately possible to determine its location or when it was made. Its release could intensify a campaign by supporters of the hostages to press the Israeli government to secure their release.
Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Sunday for a demonstration to mark 100 days since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostage, Israeli officials have said. In all, 110 hostages have since been released, many during a cease-fire at the end of November, in exchange for the release of some 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Roughly 130 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza. Israel also says that 25 hostages have died.
The fate of the hostages has become a critical issue for Israel and part of the continuing national agony of the Oct. 7 attacks. Families of some hostages have called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a further truce or even to call off the war so that their loved ones can be freed.
Mr. Netanyahu has said that he is committed to securing the release of the hostages, calling it a “supreme task,” but that Israel would continue to fight in Gaza until it achieves “total victory” over Hamas.
As their time in captivity grows, concerns are growing for the physical and mental health of the hostages, who are believed to lack necessary medicines. Some of the hostages suffered gunshot and other injuries during the initial assault, which freed captives say have not been properly treated.
“If no medical care is provided urgently for all the hostages, the result could be irreversible health problems at best and death at worst,” said Hagai Levine, an Israeli physician working with the hostages’ families. “Each day that passes is critical.”
Source : Nytimes
