The Qassam Brigades publishes the one-minute video, titled Let’s not let us grow old here, on its Telegram account.
Hamas released a video of three elderly Israeli prisoners pleading for their immediate release.
The Palestinian group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, published the one-minute video, titled Let’s not let us grow old here, on its Telegram account on Monday.
The men – identified by Israeli officials as Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, and Amiram Cooper, 84 – were taken to Gaza on October 7 when Hamas launched attacks on Israeli territory, killing 1 147 people. and take about 240 captives.
Nearly half of those captives were released last month as part of a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas.
In the video, Peri, seated between the two other captives, said in Hebrew that he was being held with other elderly hostages with chronic illnesses and that their conditions were difficult.
“We are the generation that laid the foundation for the creation of Israel. We are the ones who launched the IDF army. We don’t understand why we were abandoned here,” he said, referring to the Israeli armed forces.
“You have to free us from here. It doesn’t matter at what cost. We do not want to be direct victims of IDF military airstrikes. Release us unconditionally,” he added.
The video ends with all three men saying in unison, “Let’s not let us get old here. »
Israeli media reported that the three hostages were from Kibbutz Nir Oz, located along the Israeli border, which was targeted in the October 7 attacks.
Peri was at his home in Nir Oz during the attack, Israeli media reported. He tried to fight off the gunmen while hiding his wife behind a sofa, his son told the Reuters news agency. He eventually surrendered to save his wife, who remained in hiding, according to the report.
Outrage over prisoners in Israel
The Israeli military said Hamas had released a “criminal and terrorist video.”
“Chaim, Yoram and Amiram, I hope you will hear me this evening,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said during a televised news briefing. “Know this: we are doing everything, everything, to bring you back safe and sound. »
Israel has in the past called these videos a form of psychological warfare carried out by Hamas.
After the release of the latest video, families of Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza demonstrated in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding the immediate release of their loved ones.
The protest took place amid growing outrage in Israel after the Israeli military admitted last week to mistakenly shooting three Israeli captives in Gaza while they were waving a white flag.
Sara Khairat, Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent from occupied East Jerusalem, said the video released by Hamas sends a “strong message.”
“(The video) will do two things: help people know that they are alive even though it is still unclear exactly when it was filmed, and it will also put a lot more pressure on the Israeli government, which is already in the midst of a crisis. water for the deaths of three captives last week and at a time when protests continue,” she said.
Meanwhile, as diplomatic efforts continue to end the war in Gaza and free prisoners taken on both sides, the Israeli military has intensified its bombardment of the enclave, killing nearly 19,500 people since the 7 October – mostly women and children.
Air and ground strikes on Gaza have razed the besieged enclave, burying thousands of people under rubble.
Without permission for needed aid to arrive in the Gaza Strip, international aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian disaster with widespread famine and the spread of disease.
Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using famine as a weapon of war in Gaza.