Hamas releases more videos showing US and Israeli hostages alive
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Hamas has released propaganda videos providing proof of live for two more hostages, the American-Israeli Keith Siegel and Israeli captive Omri Miran. Both men were captured by the militant group in Gaza during the attacks on 7 October.
In one of the clips Mr Siegel makes a plea to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate with Hamas for a hostage release deal. Mr Miran says in the video that he has been in captivity for 202 days, indicating that the video was filmed this week on Thursday.
The two men, visibly under duress, also said they were unable to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover, which ends on Tuesday.
The Independent cannot immediately verify when and where the videos were shot.
Mr Siegel, a US citizen, was kidnapped alongside his wife from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October when the militant group attacked Israel. She was later released in November during a brief truce.
Mr Miran was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Families of the latest two hostages seen alive on video said they will continue to fight for their men to come back home safely. They also pushed the Israeli government to secure a new hostage release deal.
“Keith I love you, we will fight until you return,” his wife Aviva said in a video statement.
His daughter Ilan also asked the Israeli leaders to help. “Seeing my father today only emphasises to all of us how much we must reach a deal as soon as possible and bring everyone home. I demand that the leaders of this country watch this video and see their father crying out for help.”
Mr Siegel’s other daughter, in the same video statement, said, “If you watched the video, you saw that my father knows we are all coming to the rally every week and fighting for him and all the captives.”
The Israeli government has not issued a comment on the latest hostage video shared by Hamas.
This is the second video of hostages speaking, and calling on Mr Netanyahu for negotiations, released by Hamas this week.
On Wednesday, the militant group released a propaganda video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, showing him alive but with an amputated left arm.
Mr Goldberg-Polin was among the hundreds of people abducted by Hamas and other Islamist groups during their 7 October attack on southern Israel that led to the ongoing war in Gaza.
The earlier video, published on Hamas’s Telegram channel, showed Mr Goldberg-Polin wearing a red shirt and with his left hand missing. The 23-year-old was attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked and was injured by a grenade.
That video was the first proof of life provided publicly for Mr Goldberg-Polin since his capture. He is seen with a buzz cut and looking gaunt and pale, and makes comments criticising the Israeli government for abandoning the people who are currently held hostage by Hamas and are living “in hell”.
The families of hostages still held by Hamas have repeatedly criticised Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for not doing enough to secure their release.
Around 250 people are believed to be abducted by Hamas and other militant groups on 7 October. These groups likely still have around 100 hostages in their captivity and the remains of nearly 30 others.
Most of the rest were freed in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
