Hamas releases video of two Israeli hostages alive in Gaza
Israeli media identified the men in the three-minute video as Mr Elkana Bohbot and Mr Yosef Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped during Hamas' Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel. SCREENSHOT: X
JERUSALEM - Hamas' armed wing released a video on May 10 showing two Israeli hostages alive in the Gaza Strip, with one of the two men calling to end the 19-month-long war.
Israeli media identified the pair in the undated video as Mr Elkana Bohbot and Mr Yosef Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped during Hamas' Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
The three-minute video released by Hamas' Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades shows one of the hostages, identified by media as 36-year-old Mr Bohbot, visibly weak and lying on the floor wrapped in a blanket.
Mr Bohbot, a Colombian-Israeli, was seen bound and injured in the face in video footage from the day of the Hamas attack. After a video of him was released in April, his family said they were 'extremely concerned' about his health.
The second hostage, said to be Mr Ohana, 24, speaks in Hebrew in the video, urging the Israeli government to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining captives – a similar message to statements made by other hostages - likely under duress - in previous videos released by Hamas.
Mr Bohbot and Mr Ohana, both abducted by Palestinian militants from the site of a music festival, are among 58 hostages held in Gaza since the 2023 attack, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hamas also holds the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a 2014 war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 7 that the fate of three hostages presumed alive was unclear, without naming them.
'We know with certainty that 21 hostages are alive... and there are three others whose status, sadly, we do not know,' Mr Netanyahu said, in a video shared on his Telegram channel.
Israel resumed its military offensive across the Gaza Strip on March 18, after a two-month truce that saw the release of dozens of hostages.
Since the ceasefire collapsed, Hamas has released several videos of hostages, including of the two appearing in the May 10 video.
Israel says the renewed offensive aims to force Hamas to free the remaining captives, although critics charge that it puts them in mortal danger.
Hamas' October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on May 10 that at least 2,701 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll since the war broke out to 52,810. AFP
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