(BrightPress.org) – The families of five Israeli women taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th agreed to publicize a video of the abduction.
The women identified as Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Agam Berger, Karina Ariev, and Daniela Gilboa, were serving as lookouts or “observers” at Nahal Oz, a military base near the Gaza border. The graphic video captured by the bodycam of a downed Hamas terrorist shows the women against a wall with their hands bound. At least two of the women’s faces are covered in blood while they attempt to speak with their captors. Some of the Hamas fighters in the room are holding weapons, and others are shouting. During the footage, the terrorists are seen praying before loading the hostages into a vehicle while gunfire is heard in the background.
Families of the women hope releasing the footage to the media will pressure Israeli leaders to push for further negotiations for the release of the hostages. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum called the video a “damning testament to the nation’s failure to bring home the hostages.” The group also said the hostages have been in captivity for more than 229 days and there should be no greater mission or significant achievement than retrieving every single one of the 128 remaining hostages.
The video that aired on Wednesday, May 22nd was just over three minutes long and had been edited to remove the more disturbing scenes, including the murder of numerous men and women and many scenes of “extreme brutality.” Eli Albag, the father of Liri Albag, begged a local TV station to open their broadcast every day by playing the video clip.
Families of the hostages met with Israeli leaders on Wednesday to lobby for an immediate agreement with Hamas. An Israeli war cabinet member, Benny Gantz, said he would make “difficult decisions” to retrieve the hostages, if necessary.
Hamas said the video could “not be confirmed” and rejected a translation provided by Israeli authorities claiming some of the phrases “were not said” by any of the fighters appearing in the video.
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