Israeli Hostage Families Release Shocking Clip Of Female Troops' Abduction
"The world must look at this cruel atrocity. Those who care about women’s rights must speak out. All those who believe in freedom must speak out, and do everything possible to bring all of the hostages home now," Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said in a statement, reacting to the Wednesday release of footage showing the abduction of five female IDF soldiers by Hamas terrorists on October 7. The women are still being held captive somewhere in the Gaza Strip.
The families of the hostages agreed to release the raw, shocking clip with an aim to revive efforts to free them. It also comes as the European nations of Spain, Norway, and Ireland earlier the same day declared they are formally recognizing a Palestinian state. Watch the video published by Israeli sources below:
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has released footage obtained by the IDF, showing the abduction of five female soldiers from the Nahal Oz base on October 7 by Hamas terrorists.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 22, 2024
The clip shows Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy.
It has… pic.twitter.com/xcls0UGq3F
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move by the three nations a "prize for terrorism" and that any future Palestinian state "would try to carry out the October 7 massacre again and again – and that, we shall not agree to."
"We will continue to do everything to bring them home. The brutality of the Hamas terrorists only strengthens my determination to fight with all my might until Hamas is eliminated and to ensure that what we saw tonight will never happen again."
In the newly released footage, some of the girls are clearly battered and blood-soaked, and look terrified as they plead with their armed captors in English. They have been identified as Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Agam Berger and Liri Albag.
"Take their pictures," one of the militants is heard saying. "I want you quiet! Quiet! Sit down," another shouts at one point. "We will shoot you all." One girl tries to reason with one of the men by saying that she has friends in Gaza.
"These are the Zionists. You are so beautiful," one terrorist is also heard saying.And in another moment, one says according to an Israeli media translation: "Our brothers died because of you, we will kill you."
Then the video shows the captors sitting next to girls with machine guns on their chests, while others are on the floor praying. One of the terrorists says, "Here are the girls," using a term in Arabic that implies they can be impregnated [many Arabic speakers have since disputed the accuracy of the translations coming from Israeli official sources, however]...
Parts of the video which featured dead bodies and other of the more shocking scenes were edited for public release. A father of one of the kidnap victims said: "What else can we do to wake the nation up?"
Israel's military has said the number of hostages held in Gaza is 128, but dozens are believed to possibly be deceased.