People protest outside a meeting held by Israeli President Isaac Herzog with families of hostages who were seized by Hamas fighters on October 7, in West Jerusalem, on October 29, 2023 [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
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Hamas releases video of captives calling for swap

October 30, 2023
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Hamas has released a video that it said shows three women it has been holding captive.

In the 76-second clip, one of the women criticises the Israeli government in Hebrew for failing to protect people during Hamas’s attack on October 7 and calls for Israel to undertake a prisoner swap.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1718982428675473642

Israel says at least 239 people are being held captive. It was not immediately possible to verify the identity of the women.

Israel responds to Hamas captive video

The Israeli prime minister’s office has issued a statement in response to the video put out earlier by Hamas, which said it showed three of its captives:

“This is a cruel psychological propaganda by Hamas-ISIS.

“We are embracing the families. We will do everything to return all the kidnapped and missing people home.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu identified the women as Elena Trupanov, Daniel Aloni and Ramon Kirsht.

“I embrace you. Our hearts are with you and the other the captives,” he said.

Israel says German-Israeli woman taken hostage found dead

Shani Louk, who was taken captive by Hamas from a music festival inside Israel on October 7, is dead, according to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

“I am really sorry to report that we have now received news that Shani Nicole Louk has been confirmed murdered and dead,” Herzog told Germany’s Bild newspaper.

The circumstances of her death were not immediately clear. The German government confirmed that a national had died but did not offer specifics.

Israel divided over captive issue, says Haaretz contributor

The Israeli reaction to the question of the captives being held in Gaza is divided, with some wanting the priority to be securing their release, while others want to focus on striking Hamas, says Akiva Eldar, a contributor to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

“Israeli public opinion is divided between those who think Israel should pay any price – for Gilad Shalit, Israel released 1,000 Hamas prisoners, including [Hamas leader] Ismail Haniyeh,” Eldar told Al Jazeera, referring to Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was taken captive by Hamas in 2006, and released in 2011 in a prisoner swap.

“On the other hand … in his press conference, Netanyahu – when he was asked about the Gilad Shalit deal – he admitted that it was a mistake and said he would review this [prisoner swap] policy again,” Eldar added.

Eldar said that there was a “paradox” between the message coming from the Israeli government that destroying Hamas would be a priority, and the message that securing the release of the captives would be a priority.

“Every day the fighting goes on, the chance to get [the captives] out gets smaller,” Eldar said.

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