Hamas released footage on Monday showing three female Israeli hostages held by the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.
The women in the video are confirmed to be Danielle Aloni, Rimon Kirsht and Lena Trupanob, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Hello, Bibi Netanyahu. We have been in Hamas captivity [for] 23 days. Yesterday, there was a press conference with the families of the hostages. We know that there was supposed to be a ceasefire. You were supposed to release all of us. You made a commitment to release all of us,” one of the hostages says in Hebrew.
“Instead of this, we are getting punished for the political, national neglect of yours—because of that screw-up of yours on Oct. 7. Because there was no military there. Nobody came. Nobody heard about us,” she continues.
“We are innocent citizens. Citizens who pay taxes to the State of Israel. [We are] in captivity. ... You want to kill us all. You want to kill us all using the IDF. ... It isn’t enough that Israeli citizens were killed.”
“Let us go. Let us go now. Let their citizens go, let their prisoners go. Free us. Free all of us. Let us return to our families now!” the video concludes.
JNS has decided not to publish the video on its website.
The Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem called the video “cruel psychological propaganda by Hamas-ISIS.”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Netanyahu appealed to “Lena Trupanob, Danielle Aloni and Rimon Kirsht, who were abducted by Hamas that commits war crimes.”
“I embrace you. Our hearts are with you and the other hostages. We are doing everything to bring all the hostages and missing people home,” said the prime minister.
אני פונה לילנה טרופנוב, דניאל אלוני ורימון קירשט שנחטפו על ידי החמאס שמבצע פשעי מלחמה:
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 30, 2023
אני מחבק אתכן. ליבנו אתכן ועם שאר החטופים.
אנו עושים הכל כדי להחזיר את כל החטופים והנעדרים הביתה.
‘Using those who are dear to us’
On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant dismissed a Hamas offer to exchange the 239 people being held in Gaza for thousands of Palestinian terrorists sitting in Israeli prisons as “psychological games.”
“If there is no military pressure on Hamas, nothing will progress,” he told relatives of the hostages, according to a Defense Ministry statement. “The stories published by Hamas are part of its psychological games. Hamas is cynically using those who are dear to us.”
Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar said on Saturday that the terrorist group is ready for a prisoner swap with Israel.
“We are ready to conduct an immediate prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all prisoners held by the Palestinian resistance,” Sinwar said in a statement.
Some families who have loved ones held by Hamas said that Israel should accept the proposal, including in a meeting on Saturday with Netanyahu.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari dismissed Sinwar’s statement, saying that it was “psychological terror cynically used by Hamas to create pressure.
“Nothing is on the table regarding the abductees,” said Hagari.
The IDF spokesperson also noted that the statement had not come directly from the Hamas leader. “Sinwar can’t issue statements; he speaks through intermediaries. Hamas doesn’t communicate directly with Israel,” he said.
Hagari said on Sunday that the military was working to bring home the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. “We are all doing everything to bring the hostages home. It is a top priority,” he said.
