TEL AVIV (Reuters) -Hamas released a video on Friday of two Israeli hostages seized from a music festival in Israel in October 2023, and one said he was being held in Gaza City, where the Israeli military has launched a major offensive to wipe out the militant group.
Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel are two of 48 people still being held by Hamas in Gaza, with 20 thought to be still alive.
Hamas initially took 251 hostages into the enclave after its cross-border raid on southern Israeli communities that Israel says killed 1,200 people, triggering the war. More than 64,000 Palestinians have since been killed, Gaza health authorities say, with much of the densely populated enclave laid to ruin and its residents facing a humanitarian crisis.
The video was edited and featured an exhausted-looking Gilboa-Dalal speaking for around three-and-a-half minutes. He is seen in a car for some of the video dated August 28. Reuters could not independently determine when the video was recorded.
He says that he is being held in Gaza City along with several other hostages and that he is afraid of being killed by Israel’s offensive on the city.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza City on August 10, attacking what the government calls the last bastion of Hamas. An Israeli military spokesperson said on Thursday that it now controls about 40% of the city, where about one million people lived prior to the war.
Residents in the city said Israel had bombed several high-rise towers on Friday. Gaza’s health ministry said 30 Palestinians had been killed by the military across Gaza, including 20 in Gaza City.
Gilboa-Dalal appears to be in the backseat of a car that is being driven around. As the car passes by buildings, he identifies one as belonging to the Red Cross. Hamas has refused to allow the Red Cross to see the hostages.
At one point, Ohel, 24, is also seen.
DICTATED SPEECH
Gilboa-Dalal was seen in a video in February being forced to watch other hostages being freed under a temporary ceasefire. Hostages who were filmed in similar videos and have since been released have said their captors had dictated to them what they should say.
Human Rights Watch has condemned Hamas and another militant group in Gaza for releasing videos of hostages, calling it inhumane treatment that amounts to a war crime. Israeli officials have described the videos as psychological warfare.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have staged weekly demonstrations calling for an end to the war to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
After the release of the video, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on X urged Israeli negotiators to resume talks on a deal to secure the hostages. Those released so far were as a result of diplomatic negotiations mediated by the United States and Arab states, but the last round of talks collapsed in July.
However, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Israel should respond by fully occupying Gaza.
Israel’s military leadership has warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against expanding the war, according to Israeli officials, although forces have advanced through Gaza City suburbs in recent weeks.
Hamas has said it would accept the proposal put forward in July that would see the release of some hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire. Netanyahu is pushing for an all or nothing deal with Hamas releasing all hostages and surrendering.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Friday that military operations would intensify until Hamas accepts Israel’s conditions for ending the war: release the hostages and disarm. Otherwise, the group would be destroyed, he said.
The militant group has long offered to release all hostages in exchange for an end to the war and Israel’s withdrawal.
Hamas has been decimated by Israel’s war in Gaza, with Israeli officials estimating at least 20,000 militants killed. But after nearly two years of war, many Israelis doubt the military can achieve any more in Gaza.
Still, 60,000 reservists have been called up to support the operation and the service of 20,000 more has been extended.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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