Hamas releases hostage video as pressure grows on Israel for deal
The militant group appears to be releasing videos to get a hostage deal and end the fighting before Israel launches a fresh offensive.
Hamas released a video of two further hostages in a move that appeared to be designed to increase pressure on the Israeli government to reach a ceasefire deal, as anticipation grows for a large Israeli offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
In the three-minute video, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47, urged the Israeli government to come to an agreement with the militant group to free them.
Protests in Israel for the government to do more to free the remaining captives seized on October 7 have been growing in recent weeks, and Hamas has been releasing videos of some of the prisoners to add to the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
In the video released on Saturday (Sunday AEST), Mr Siegel and Mr Miran, who wore black shirts and were placed against a grey background, appeared pale and thin after more than six months in captivity. Mr Siegel broke down as he spoke, describing how he found the protests to free him in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem encouraging.
He also called on demonstrators to continue to apply pressure on the Israeli government and called on the country’s leaders to “participate in the negotiations to reach a deal soon”.
It wasn’t clear when the video was filmed, but Mr Miran said he had been held for 202 days, indicating it was recent. “It’s time to reach a deal that will get us out alive, whole and healthy,” he said, addressing his words to Israel’s government and people. “I want you to do everything you can and push in every possible way.”
Mr Siegel and wife Aviva were taken hostage from their home in kibbutz Kfar Aza. Ms Siegel was freed as part of a ceasefire deal in November and with her daughters has been campaigning for his release ever since. The video of the men came as a relief to desperate families who haven’t heard or seen them for many months and wondered if they were still alive.
The latest video comes amid last-ditch efforts to revive talks to free some of the remaining 129 hostages and hold off a military offensive in Rafah, where more than a million Gazans have taken refuge since the start of the war and where Israel believes much of Hamas’s leadership is hiding with many of the remaining hostages.
Mediators are trying to come up with a new proposal to revive talks to release the hostages. Israeli officials met with Egyptian counterparts on Friday, but several obstacles remain, which mediators say makes chances of reaching a deal low. Hamas hasn’t retracted its demand that Israel cease its war in Gaza in exchange for more hostage releases, which the Israeli government won’t accept.
Hamas released a video of another American-Israeli hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, on Wednesday. The 23-year-old appeared with the stump of one arm, an injury sustained when he was taken hostage with more than 240 others.
Hamas had released 109 hostages as of the end of November when a ceasefire agreement that included hostage-prisoner exchanges expired. Of those, 105 were returned during the pause in fighting that began on November 24.
Among 129 remaining hostages, at least 34 are dead, according to Israel. Israeli and US officials privately estimate the number of dead hostages could be much higher.
In response to the video, the Hostage Family Forum said it was “time for the government and its leader to prove through actions their commitment to the citizens of Israel who await the return of the hostages. The Israeli government must not miss this opportunity to bring them all home”.
Protests led by hostage families have intensified in recent weeks due to heightened urgency, with demonstrators gathering on Saturday to call for the release of the hostages. Mr Miran’s father spoke at Saturday’s rally after watching the video, which he said shook him and all the people of Israel.
Ms Siegel and daughters Ilan and Shir released a video in response in which they called on the Israeli government to free Mr Siegel. “Seeing my father today only emphasises to all of us how much we must reach a deal as soon as possible and bring everyone home,” said Ilan Siegel. “I demand that the leaders of this country watch this video and see our father crying out for help.”
The Wall Street Journal
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