Palestinian Islamic Jihad releases first-ever video of Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski
A Palestinian militant group in Gaza released a video on Wednesday of Rom Braslavski, a 21-year-old Israeli soldier who was taken hostage from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
The 7-minute propaganda video, released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is the first time Braslavski has been shown on camera during his captivity.
The video indicates that Islamic Jihad, which coordinates with, but is independent from Hamas, is holding at least one of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza. It is not clear exactly when the video was filmed.
Almost certainly speaking under duress, Braslavski, who was off-duty and working as a security guard when he was kidnapped, describes 'a year and a half of suffering and hell,' citing illnesses and a lack of food and water and describes Israel's incessant bombardment of Gaza.
He pleads with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to end the war and strike a deal for his release.
Braslavski also calls out far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has opposed ceasefire and hostage release proposals, saying he voted for him in the last elections.
Braslavski's family said he was unrecognizable in the video, looking sick and years older than he is.
'We knew before that you were sick and not feeling well and that you needed your medication. I really hope that this video will shock those who need it and that you will return to us from this nightmare,' his brother Amit wrote on Instagram.
Braslavski's mother Tami, who had previously received signs of her son's life from released hostages who were held with Braslavski, said she is in agony after seeing the video of her son.
'I feel very bad. My son is underground, screaming for his soul, shouting 'Save me.' Even our Rom, as strong as he is – they managed to break him. They broke my son,' she told Israeli news site Walla.
'No one from this country is picking up the phone for me. I need to watch this video together with the entire people of Israel. No one is answering me. Shame on the country.'
The video of Braslavski comes just days after Hamas released a propaganda clip of Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier who is the lone surviving American citizen held in Gaza. The three-minute video, also almost certainly filmed under duress, is the second proof-of-life video of Alexander since the war began 18 months ago. In the video, he appeals directly to Trump, asking why he is not home yet and in the United States.
Alexander has become the focus of attention in negotiations because of his American citizenship. The latest Israeli ceasefire proposal, to which Hamas has not officially responded, calls for releasing Alexander at the beginning of a pause in the fighting as a gesture to the US.
However, Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed on Tuesday that they have lost contact with the militants holding Alexander, after they said the Israeli military bombed the location where Alexander was being held.
CNN cannot independently verify the claim.
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