Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (not pictured) in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly condemned a video released by Hamas on Monday, denouncing it as “cruel psychological propaganda.” The video features three women, identified as Yelena Trupanob, Danielle Aloni, and Rimon Kirsht, seated side by side against a stark wall. In the video, Danielle Aloni directs an emotional message to Prime Minister Netanyahu, accusing him of failing to protect Israeli citizens during a deadly Hamas attack and of not taking adequate measures to secure their return. She calls for an agreement to secure their release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
“You were supposed to free all of us. You committed to free us all. But instead, we are carrying the burden of your political, security, military, and diplomatic failures,” she laments.
Netanyahu responded with a statement reiterating his commitment to making every possible effort to bring the hostages home. He emphasized the gravity of the situation, with the hostages having been abducted by Hamas, an act he described as constituting war crimes.
“Abducted by Hamas, which is committing war crimes, I embrace you. Our hearts are with you and with the other captives. We are doing everything to bring home all the captives and the missing,” Netanyahu declared.
The families of the three women were scheduled to hold a news conference at 7 p.m. (17.00 GMT) to address the situation.
This video is the second hostage message released by Hamas, following an earlier clip featuring 21-year-old Franco-Israeli woman Mia Schem, which was made public on October 17th.
According to Israeli authorities, at least 239 hostages, comprising both Israeli and foreign nationals, were taken captive by Hamas gunmen during the attack on October 7th, which resulted in the loss of at least 1,400 lives.
The presence of the hostages in Gaza has added complexity to the ongoing ground operation initiated by Israeli forces last week. This came after a period of intense aerial bombardments, as reported by Palestinian authorities, leading to the deaths of over 8,000 people.
While four hostages have been released thus far, efforts to secure additional releases through backchannel negotiations, coordinated by Qatar, appear to have been temporarily halted following the commencement of the ground operation.
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