Al-Qassam Brigades post video of Israeli captives in Gaza calling for their release

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Hamas group's armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades on Monday released a video of three Israeli captives urging their government to release them.

The one-minute video was posted on Al-Qassam's Telegram account, showing three elderly Israelis, with one of them speaking and identifying himself as 79-year-old Haiem Bery.

"Don't let us grow old here [in Gaza]," was the main phrase in the video by the Israeli captive, who repeated it several times.

"We are the generation who built the foundation for the creation of Israel. We are the ones who started the IDF military," 79-year-old Bery said of the Israeli army.

"We don’t understand why we have been abandoned here [...] you have to release us from here. It does not matter the cost," he added.

The Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari commented on the clip, saying it is a propaganda video by the Hamas group, and reiterated Israeli army's pledge to release Israeli captives in Gaza.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege, and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 19,453 Palestinians have since been killed and 52,286 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while over 130 hostages are still held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar