https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/05/...sts-kidnapping-female-israeli-hostages-oct-7/
A disturbing new video shows the moments when five female Israeli soldiers, covered in blood, were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 at the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip.
In the video, Hamas terrorists force the young women, some of whom are teenagers, against a wall and threaten to kill them. The video was edited to remove graphic images of multiple dead bodies lying around them.
In the midst of dozens of Hamas terrorists surrounding and yelling at the girls, a terrorist appears to call them “beautiful.” Additionally, there is debate over whether one of the terrorist referred to the captives as what amounts to a sex slave or if he was saying the word “young woman,” which sounds similar.
“The video of the female observers’ abduction is a wake-up call to the civilized world,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which released the video on Wednesday, wrote on X/Twitter. “We must condemn those actions and we cannot abandon the hostages held captive for 229 days.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists kidnapped over 250 people and murdered 1,200 others during their surprise invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7. About 125 hostages, including the five women in the video, remain unaccounted for, either dead or alive in Gaza. The rest have either been rescued by Israeli forces or released as part of a temporary ceasefire last year.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum argued the video shows why “the Israeli government and the international community can’t waste another moment.” It concluded, “We must get back to the negotiation table today! #BringThemHomeNow.”
One of the hostages, Naama Levy, can be seen pleading with the terrorists, saying, “I have friends in Palestine.”
Levy participated in a program called Hands of Peace in 2022, which was a three-week dialogue-based program for American, Israeli, and Palestinian teenagers. During a speech she gave at the program, she explained the reason she joined Hands of Peace: “I wanted to hear the other side. We live so close to each other but we never actually get to talk to one another.”
The other hostages in the video have been identified as Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa, Liri Albag, and Karina Ariev.
Women who have been released from Hamas captivity have said they experienced sexual assault and other forms of torture in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was planning to show European diplomats the video of the women being kidnapped amid the decision of Ireland, Spain, and Norway to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
Seth Frantzman, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis, wrote that he was disturbed by the fact that the women in the video were essentially abandoned.
“Not one of their commanding officers has been relieved of command. There’s an entire command structure above them that abandoned them there for many hours,” he said.
Frantzman added, “The women were unarmed, and despite many warnings from the women, who served as IDF [Israel Defense Forces] observers monitoring screens watching Gaza, the brass did not stay alert to the rising Hamas threat.”
The video comes amid rising pressure on Israel’s government by the families of hostages to come to a deal to secure their release. Many of the families do not believe the government, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has done enough to reach a deal.
A disturbing new video shows the moments when five female Israeli soldiers, covered in blood, were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 at the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip.
In the video, Hamas terrorists force the young women, some of whom are teenagers, against a wall and threaten to kill them. The video was edited to remove graphic images of multiple dead bodies lying around them.
In the midst of dozens of Hamas terrorists surrounding and yelling at the girls, a terrorist appears to call them “beautiful.” Additionally, there is debate over whether one of the terrorist referred to the captives as what amounts to a sex slave or if he was saying the word “young woman,” which sounds similar.
“The video of the female observers’ abduction is a wake-up call to the civilized world,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which released the video on Wednesday, wrote on X/Twitter. “We must condemn those actions and we cannot abandon the hostages held captive for 229 days.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists kidnapped over 250 people and murdered 1,200 others during their surprise invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7. About 125 hostages, including the five women in the video, remain unaccounted for, either dead or alive in Gaza. The rest have either been rescued by Israeli forces or released as part of a temporary ceasefire last year.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum argued the video shows why “the Israeli government and the international community can’t waste another moment.” It concluded, “We must get back to the negotiation table today! #BringThemHomeNow.”
One of the hostages, Naama Levy, can be seen pleading with the terrorists, saying, “I have friends in Palestine.”
Levy participated in a program called Hands of Peace in 2022, which was a three-week dialogue-based program for American, Israeli, and Palestinian teenagers. During a speech she gave at the program, she explained the reason she joined Hands of Peace: “I wanted to hear the other side. We live so close to each other but we never actually get to talk to one another.”
The other hostages in the video have been identified as Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa, Liri Albag, and Karina Ariev.
Women who have been released from Hamas captivity have said they experienced sexual assault and other forms of torture in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was planning to show European diplomats the video of the women being kidnapped amid the decision of Ireland, Spain, and Norway to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
Seth Frantzman, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis, wrote that he was disturbed by the fact that the women in the video were essentially abandoned.
“Not one of their commanding officers has been relieved of command. There’s an entire command structure above them that abandoned them there for many hours,” he said.
Frantzman added, “The women were unarmed, and despite many warnings from the women, who served as IDF [Israel Defense Forces] observers monitoring screens watching Gaza, the brass did not stay alert to the rising Hamas threat.”
The video comes amid rising pressure on Israel’s government by the families of hostages to come to a deal to secure their release. Many of the families do not believe the government, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has done enough to reach a deal.
