Three of the estimated 136 hostages Hamas has held captive in the Gaza Strip since the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israeli soil appeared Monday in a propaganda video in which the terrorists announce they will report on what happened to the captives. And they ask people what they think might have happened to them.
"What do you think? Are they all dead, some dead and some alive, or are they all still alive?" asked Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, in the undated video shared on the social network Telegram.
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The three hostages shown in the 33 seconds of footage are 29-year-old Noa Argamani, 53-year-old Yossi Sharabi and 38-year-old Itay Svirsky. The Islamists close the video by announcing "tonight we will inform you of your fate."
This message is followed by a first video posted Sunday night by Hamas on Telegram, in which the same three captives are seen introducing themselves and calling on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war and bring them home.
Noa Argamani, whose capture at the electronic party taking place on October 7 was caught on video, confirms her identity and says: "Stop this madness and return us to our families."
These are the monsters that those protesters are fighting for get the protesters out of this country and send them there.
Hamas releases chilling video of Israeli hostages and warns that 'tomorrow we will inform you o... https://t.co/hV6uT8VVdt @MailOnline
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It is not known where the video was recorded, nor if the images are recent. The three hostages show no signs of mistreatment and appear to be in good health.
Hamas has previously shared similar videos since thousands of its militants killed 7,1 people in southern Israel and kidnapped some 200 people on Oct. 240, kicking off an unprecedented escalation of war in the Gaza Strip.
How many hostages are in Hamas' hands?
A total of 136 hostages, including 25 dead, are believed to remain under Hamas hijacking, but on Sunday the Islamist group said it had lost contact with some of them due to the massive military offensive on the ground and in the air.
"Most likely, many of them have been killed recently, the rest are in great danger with each passing hour and the enemy's leadership and army are responsible," Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said in a televised statement marking the 100-day war.
"Any dialogue before the end of the Israeli aggression is useless," Obeida added.
In total, 110 captives have been released, 105 of them during the week-long truce in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners.
In turn, Israel has recovered the bodies of 11 dead hostages, and Israeli forces themselves have mistakenly killed 4 of them, one during a botched rescue operation.
With information from EFE