Hamas armed wing releases video of apparently injured Israeli hostage
JERUSALEM: The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Saturday showing what appeared to be an Israeli hostage injured in a strike on Gaza.
In the undated four-minute video, which AFP has not been able to verify, the hostage, wearing bandages on his head and left arm and identifying himself only as 'Prisoner 24,' spoke in Hebrew with a Russian accent, implying he had been wounded in a recent Israeli bombardment.
The man, shown lying on the ground, also referred to Israel's Independence Day celebrations on Thursday as upcoming, suggesting that the video was filmed shortly beforehand.
He gave a similar message to other hostages shown in videos released by the militant group, urging pressure on the Israeli government to free those still held in Gaza.
Militants in the territory still hold 58 hostages seized in Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel. The army says 34 of them are dead. Hamas is also holding the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a previous war in Gaza in 2014.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
A truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas came into force on January 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting.
Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over next steps in the ceasefire.
The Israeli government says its renewed offensive aims to force Hamas to free the remaining captives, although critics charge it puts them in mortal danger.
Since the end of the truce, Hamas has released several videos of hostages. The latest images come as efforts by mediators to broker a new truce have stalled.
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