'Do you want us dead': Israeli hostages in Gaza to Netanyahu government

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday feared for their lives due to Israeli airstrikes on the enclave, questioning the Netanyahu government: “Do you want us dead?”

The military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Al-Quds Brigades, on Wednesday aired a video of two Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip warning that their lives are in danger due to Israeli airstrikes.

In the video, a hostage, Jadi Moses, addressed his friends, saying that "pressure must be intensified to make the Israeli government understand what we want."

“We are in an unbearable situation. It is likely that we will die because there is no guarantee that the army will not target us,” he added, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.

“We (hostages) feel that the government does not want us to return alive,” he said.

Another hostage, Elad Katzir, said: “We are in danger because of the army's missiles that threaten our lives. We miss our homes, and we want to return alive.”

Katzir called on Netanyahu and all decision-makers in Israel to "do whatever is necessary, stop the strikes, and achieve a prisoner exchange deal."

During a week-long humanitarian pause in Gaza last month, Hamas released 81 Israelis, 23 Thai nationals, and a Philippines national, in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

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 19,667 Palestinians have since been killed and 52,586 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 stands at 1,200, while over 130 hostages are still held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.