Published December 18, 2023
- Three elderly hostages begged not to be left in Gaza as prisoners of Hamas
- The men are among the ten remaining hostages above the age of 75
- Hamas has said it will not negotiate until Israel agrees to end its war in Gaza
Three elderly Israeli hostages held by Hamas have begged to be released from captivity, asking Israel: ‘Don’t let us grow old here.’
The captives, all wearing dirty white t-shirts, said in a video published by Hamas via Telegram on Monday that they had no idea why they have not yet been rescued.
MailOnline is not publishing the video.
One man, who identified himself as 79-year-old Haiem Bery, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was seated in the middle of two others around the same age, spoke in Hebrew down the barrel of the camera.
He said he was being held with other elderly hostages with chronic illnesses, and that all of them were living in very harsh conditions.
The three men are among the ten remaining hostages over the age of 75, and the video is understood to be the first time any of them have been seen alive since they were taken on Black Saturday.
‘We are the generation who built the foundation for the creation of Israel. We are the ones who started the IDF military. We don’t understand why we have been abandoned here,’ he said.
‘You have to release us from here. It does not matter the cost. We don’t want to be casualties as a direct result of the IDF military airstrikes. Release us with no conditions. Don’t let us grow old here,’ he added.
The video ends with all three men repeating the phrase in unison, ‘Don’t let us grow old here.’
An IDF spokesperson described the video as a ‘criminal terrorist video.’
A Hamas official in Beirut, Lebanon, said today that negotiations on the release of hostages were off the table until Israel ‘stops its war on Gaza.’
Hamas and other militant groups are believed to still hold 129 foreign captives.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
RELATED:Hamas video shows elderly Israeli captives pleading for release
The Qassam Brigades releases the one-minute video, titled Don’t Let Us Grow Old Here, on its Telegram account.
Published December 18, 2023
Hamas has posted a video of three elderly Israeli captives pleading for their immediate release.
The Palestinian group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, posted the one-minute video, titled Don’t Let Us Grow Old Here, on its Telegram account on Monday.
The men – identified by Israeli officials as 79-year-old Chaim Peri, 80-year-old Yoram Metzger and 84-year-old Amiram Cooper – were taken to Gaza on October 7 when Hamas launched attacks inside Israeli territory, killing 1,147 people and taking about 240 captives.
Nearly half of those captives were released as part of a weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas last month.
In the video, Peri, seated between the two other captives, said in Hebrew that he was being held along with other elderly hostages with chronic illnesses and that their conditions were harsh.
“We are the generation who built the foundation for the creation of Israel. We are the ones who started the IDF military. We don’t understand why we have been abandoned here,” he said, referring to the Israeli armed forces.
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SOURCE: www,aljazeera.com
RELATED: Dec. 17: Israel said to let Hamas pick next hostages to be freed in talks on new ceasefire
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This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 17, 2023, shows signs reading ‘SOS’ and ‘Help, 3 hostages,’ that were put up in Gaza by three Israeli hostages who were later mistakenly killed by IDF troops. (Israel Defense Forces)
Published December 17, 2023
Egyptian security sources tell Reuters that both Israel and Hamas are open to a new ceasefire agreement that would include the release of hostages held by the Gaza-ruling terror group.
The sources say that Egypt and Qatar demanded that aid shipments be expedited and that Israel reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza as conditions for restarting negotiations. The first humanitarian convoy entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom earlier today.
The sources also say that Hamas is insisting on unilaterally deciding the next hostages to be freed and wants Israeli troops to withdraw to pre-set lines. According to the sources, Israel rejected the latter term, and demanded to see the list of hostages before the time and duration of the ceasefire are determined.
“While Israel agreed on Hamas setting the list, the sources said it demanded a timeline and to see the list before setting the time and duration of the ceasefire,” Reuters reports.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
