Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad released a video on Thursday (Nov 9) in which it claimed to have kept two hostages, a woman in her 70s and a 13-year-old boy, in the Gaza Strip.
“We are ready to release Mrs. Hanna Katzir on humanitarian and health grounds, noting that we might no be able to provide health care for her considering the shortage of food and medicine and the power outage. We are also ready to release the boy Yaghil Yaqub [Jacob] on humanitarian grounds and because of his young age,” Abu Hamza, spokesman for the group’s military wing, was heard as saying in the video.
“This initiative will come into effect when the security conditions on the ground are met, in a way that provides protection for our Palestinian people,” he added.
In the video of captives, the elderly woman can be heard saying that she missed her children. “I hope I will manage to see you next week. We are happy and healthy and we want everyone to be happy,” the woman said while being seated in a wheelchair, as quoted by Reuters.
Gaza hostage video is ‘psychological terrorism’: Israel army
Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht slammed the video shared by Palestinian militants and called it “psychological terrorism”.
“This is a sign of life, and it is important,” said chief Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, while speaking about the video. “I will, for the moment, ignore the question of their release … We will be the first to update the families before anything happens,” he added.
It is believed that the military wing is holding nearly 239 hostages in Gaza, who were kidnapped during the attacks launched by Hamas on October 7 as per Israeli officials, in which some 1,400 Israelis were killed.
Watch | Israeli army shows devastation in northern Gaza as invasion grinds on
So far, four hostages have been freed by the militants and talks are being held for securing the release of others, in exchange for a temporary pause in the fighting and more aid for Gaza Strip.
After the October 7 attack, Israel has been bombarding Gaza relentlessly in which more than 10,800 people have been killed so far, as per the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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.
(With inputs from agencies)
