In hostage video released by Hamas, women slam Netanyahu, PM calls it ‘cruel propaganda’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed what he terms a propaganda video released by the Hamas terror group which shows three hostages kidnapped by them criticising the government for the ongoing war.

The terror group had released a 76-second video which purportedly shows three Israeli ladies seated on plastic chairs and facing the camera.

The clip then shows one of the ladies, seated in the centre, accusing the Israeli government of leaving the people defenceless during theHamasattack.

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Hostages slam Israeli govt

“We are getting punished for your political, national neglect,” she says. “Nobody came. Nobody heard us.”

She further said that they had been in captivity for 23 days, suggesting that the video was filmed on Sunday (Oct 29) or Monday (Oct 30), over three weeks after Hamas launched an all-front assault on 7 October

Furthermore, she pleads for an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

“Let their citizens go, let their prisoners go. Free us. Free all of us. Let us return to our families now!” she was heard as saying, reported the Guardian.

'Cruel psychological propaganda'

Meanwhile, Netanyahu slammed the video terming it as "cruel psychological propaganda".

In a statement, Netanyahu also named the hostages, saying: "I turn to Elena Trupanov, Daniel Aloni and Rimon Kirsht who were kidnapped by Hamas who commits war crimes. I hug you.".

Netanyahu also rejected an immediate swap and said the offensive in Gaza would put pressure on Hamas to make concessions.

Benjamin Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister, told BBC that he was glad that the women were alive and well, and the video showed proof of it.

"The only good thing about this video is we have visual proof these women are alive,"he said

Regev said he cannot imagine the pain the hostages are experiencing on a daily basis.

"We don’t believe that Hamas is going to release these hostages because suddenly Hamas is becoming boy scouts or a humanitarian organisation... Hamas is a brutal, ruthless, extreme, barbaric organisation... We've seen the sort of violence they're capable of first-hand," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.



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