(TargetDailyNews.com) – Hamas has released a recent propaganda video featuring clips of three Israeli hostages wherein they state their names and ask the Israeli government for help getting them home. The video was widely condemned by Israeli authorities as psychological warfare, and many outlets refused to air it.
In the brief 37-second video Yossi Sharabi, 53; Itay Svirsky, 38; and Noa Argamani, 26; introduce themselves and ask for an end to their captivity. It was unclear when the footage was shot, suggesting it’s even questionable as to whether or not the individuals featured in it are still alive.
The video ended with a scrolling bit of text that suggested we’d have to wait and see what happened to the hostages. This isn’t the first time Hamas has released a video featuring hostages that were taken during a raid on southern Israel on October 7th.
Hamas has said it lost track of some of the hostages as of January 14th, citing ongoing Israeli military operations, and suggested they could have been killed. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said that many of the hostages’ fates were “unknown” as a consequence of the Israeli military presence in Gaza. In a broadcast statement, Obeida added that there wouldn’t be negotiations for further release of hostages until the Israelis halt their military operations.
Hamas is also anticipating additional strikes from its allies against Israel “in the coming days,” according to Obeida. Hamas had previously threatened to execute hostages in its possession but it’s unclear if they ever carried out the threat. Israeli forensic analysis of the remains of hostages found in Gaza has yet to conclude whether or not they were killed in air strikes, as alleged by Hamas.
Israeli military spokesman Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari said that they were adapting their fighting techniques to account for the presence of hostages, and said they needed more time to complete the work.
Roughly half of the 240 people taken during the October 7th raid by Hamas were released during a November ceasefire and prisoner exchange. Israel authorities have estimated that 132 hostages remain in Gaza and there have been at least 25 deaths among those taken. There were four hostages released early for humanitarian reasons, they were elderly women and children. Three hostages were killed by the Israeli military while they were attempting to escape from Hamas.
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