Hamas aired a video Sunday showing three Israeli hostages it is holding in Gaza, Reuters reported.
The hostages, identified as 26-year-old Noa Argamani, 53-year-old Yossi Sharabiand 38-year-old Itai Svirsky, were seen in a 37-second video urging the Israeli government to halt its offense against Hamas and secure their release, according to Reuters. The video concluded with a message, “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”
Hamas previously stated that communication was lost with some hostages amid Israeli shelling in Gaza, raising fears that they might have been killed during the attacks. Hamas previously threatened to execute hostages in retaliation for Israeli military strikes at the start of the war.
Hagar Mizrahi, a forensic official from Israel’s Health Ministry, refuted Hamas’ claims that some hostages had died in air strikes, citing autopsy results that contradicted these assertions. (RELATED: Gaza Freelance Journalists Working For AP And Reuters Allegedly Joined Oct 7 Attack: REPORT)
BREAKING: MAJOR NEW HAMAS VIDEO ABOUT ISRAELI HOSTAGES
“Wait for us .. tomorrow we will tell you their fate.
Your government is lying.” pic.twitter.com/9UC7P6BUdX
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) January 14, 2024
Despite this, Israel acknowledges the risks to hostages from its military operations. “The military operation takes time. It obligates us to be precise, and we are adapting it in accordance with the threats and the hostages who are in the field,” Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesperson for the Israeli armed forces, said in a statement, per Reuters.
Since the outbreak of the war, triggered by Hamas’ cross-border attack Oct. 7, approximately 240 people were seized by Hamas, Reuters noted. About half of these hostages were released in a November truce, but Israel reports that 132 remain in Gaza, with 25 having died in captivity.