The call/ The video of the two Israeli hostages being held in Gaza is published

2024-04-28 11:51:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hamas - the group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - released a video on Saturday of two Israeli hostages it has been holding in the Gaza Strip since October 7.

The video is shot similarly to past hostage videos released by the radical Palestinian group. These videos have been condemned by Israel as psychological terrorism.

The two men, identified as Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47, speak separately in the video. They expressed their love to their families and asked to be released.

Miran was abducted from his home in the Nahal Oz community in front of his wife and two young children during the deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, which fueled the war in Gaza.

Siegel, who holds US and Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped along with his wife from another border town. His wife was later released during a brief truce in November.

Their video was released on Saturday during the Israeli Passover holiday.

For a moment while speaking, Siegel breaks down in tears as she remembers celebrating this holiday with her family last year and hoping to join them.

About 250 Israelis and foreigners were kidnapped in southern Israel by Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip.

During the November deal, Hamas released 105 hostages – most of them women and children – in exchange for a week-long ceasefire and the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

A further 133 hostages are believed to be still being held in Gaza, of whom 30 are believed to be dead.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of the remaining hostages have been ongoing for several weeks.

Hamas has rejected a previous proposal for a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release of 40 hostages.

The group says the deal should include a permanent ceasefire, the full withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and the return of displaced people to their homes.

But Israel insists that it will continue its military attacks until it defeats Hamas and that it will continue its military presence in Gaza even after the war.

Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas began after members of the group killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 others during that attack in southern Israel.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them children and women, as a result of Israel's war in Gaza since then, according to Palestinian health officials./REL