Hamas’s military wing, Qassam Brigades, has released a video of two Israeli captives demanding the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach an agreement with the group to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners, as they warned of the repercussions of the Israeli bombing of Gaza on their lives.
In the video, the group said that “military pressure led to the death of dozens of captives in our hands and prevented the rest from celebrating [Jewish holiday] Passover with their loved ones”.
One of the captives in the video called on Netanyahu’s government to be flexible in the negotiations so that a deal can be reached soon, saying, “We are living in difficult conditions under violent bombardment”, adding, “Sometimes we feel like you have abandoned us.”
Another captive is seen addressing Israelis, telling them: “I hope that you will continue the demonstrations in order for there to be negotiations that lead to a deal, and I want you to do everything in your power to put pressure on the government in all possible ways.”
In response to the video, the families of Israeli captives in Gaza said that Israel must choose either the ground invasion of Rafah or a deal with Hamas, noting that “the war must end and a price has to be paid”, and that “entering Rafah will result in the death of more captives. Israel must choose to return them”.
