Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Monday it was “doing everything to bring all the kidnapped and missing people home.”
Netanyahu’s office issued a brief statement after Hamas released a short video Monday, showing three women believed to be hostages in Haza.
"Our hearts go out to you and the other abductees. We are doing everything to bring all the kidnapped and missing people home," the statement said.The hostage video is only the second released since it captured up to 240 people, according to figures released Tuesday by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The video appears intended to undermine Netanyahu with pointed criticism over his leadership by the detained women.
In the video, the three women are seated in plastic chairs facing the camera, while the woman in the middle addresses Netanyahu directly with increasing fury.
She refers to a news conference by families of the hostages “yesterday,” suggesting it was filmed on Monday.
The video comes just days after progress in hostage negotiations fell through, a fact referenced by the speaker who mentions a supposed “ceasefire.” Israeli leaders Friday dismissed talks of a breakthrough in talks as a rumor as they announced an expansion of the IDF’s ground campaign in Gaza.
The woman speaks fluently and does not appear to be reading from a script, but because the women are hostages, the statement could have been made under duress.
“You promised to release us all,” she says, suggesting she is aware of hostage negotiations.She finishes with a demand to “free us all,” screaming: “Now! Now! Now!”
Relatives of the hostages have named the women as Yelena Trupanob, Daniel Aloni and Rimon Kirsht; Aloni is the speaker.
The women do not show visible signs of physical mistreatment, but CNN is unable to verify anything about their circumstances or well-being.
"Our heart is broken by the cry of Daniel and from the faces of Yelena and Rimon who sit beside her," IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Danile Hagari said in a press briefing Monday.
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