Published January 16, 2024
- Hostage Noa Argamani was forced to claim that two fellow hostages were dead
- She was made to say that IDF missiles had killed Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirsky
- The IDF has strongly denied the claims, but fears they are dead
Israel has rejected Hamas‘ claim that it killed two hostages following a missile campaign, but admitted that their safety is not known and they attacked targets ‘close to where they were held’.
Hamas yesterday released a video in which 26-year-old hostage Noa Argamani is forced to say two of her fellow captives, 53-year-old Yossi Sharabi and 38-year-old Itai Svirsky, were dead, allegedly killed by IDF strikes.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari admitted that the families of Shabari and Svirsky have now been told that their lives may have been lost, but was adamant that the IDF believes Argamani is still alive.
Hamas claimed that the IDF targeted a building where the three of them were held, which the IDF spokesperson strenuously denied.
‘Itay was not killed by our forces. This is a Hamas lie.
‘The building where they were held was not a target and was not attacked by our forces.
‘We did not know their exact location in real-time. We do not strike where we know there are hostages.
‘In retrospect, we know that we attacked targets close to the location where they were held.’
The IDF’s denial of the hostages’ deaths followed an earlier video in which Hamas claimed they would reveal whether three hostages are alive or dead – including Ms Argamani, whose abduction horrified the world.
In the footage they asked viewers ‘what do you think?’ – referring to the fate of the Nova festival attendee Ms Argamani, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38.
But another video aired today shows Ms Argamani claiming the two other captives were killed by ‘our own IDF strikes’, referring to the Israeli military.
In the earlier video, Hamas offered a trio of options for the captives: all three are killed; ‘some are killed, some are injured,’ or all three are spared.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
RELATED: Hamas airs propaganda clip of hostages Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi, Itay Svirsky
37-second, undated video ends with chyron reading ‘Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate,’ in latest instance of practice Israel has slammed as psychological warfare
Published January 15, 2024
Palestinian terror group Hamas on Sunday aired a new propaganda video showing three hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in a practice Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare.
Most Israeli media outlets did not publish the videos.
In undated, edited-together clips, the video released Sunday showed Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itay Svirsky, 38, identifying themselves and asking the Israeli government to bring them home.
The 37-second clip ended with the chyron: “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”
There was no information indicating when the videos were filmed.
Hamas has previously issued similar videos of hostages it is holding since October 7, when thousands of terrorists killed 1,200 across southern Israel and abducted 240 people of all ages.
Noa Argamani is seen being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the massacre at the Supernova desert rave in the south on October 7, 2023. (Screenshot used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
The Palestinian terror group said earlier on Sunday it had lost contact with some hostages as Israeli forces operate in Gaza, noting that they might have been killed in the process.
“The fate of many of the enemy’s hostages and detainees has become unknown in recent weeks and the rest are all in the tunnel of the unknown due to the Zionist aggression,” Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a televised statement. “Most likely, many of them were killed recently, the rest are in great danger every hour and the enemy’s leadership and army bear full responsibility.”
He added that “any talks before stopping the Israeli aggression are worthless.”
Abu Obeida also said that Hamas has been told by “several parties in the resistance fronts that they will expand their strikes on the Israeli enemy in the coming days.”
At the outset of the war, triggered by the group’s October 7 shock assault, Hamas threatened to execute hostages in retaliation for Israeli military strikes.
Israeli officials have generally declined to respond to Hamas’ public messaging on the hostages, casting it as psychological warfare.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Hamas says two Israeli hostages are dead, as IDF calls videos ‘psychological torture’ of captives’ families
Naama Weinberg shows a photo of her cousin Itai Svirsky during a press conference of family members of Israelis held by Hamas on October 26, 2023.
Published January 16, 2024
Israel said Monday that Hamas is carrying out “psychological torment” as the militant group released a third video in the space of 24 hours featuring the same three hostages being held in Gaza, the last of which appears to show two of the hostages dead.
“Hamas are hit badly by the IDF and all that is left for them is to bring psychological torment to the families [of the hostages], leaving the IDF to clarify things for the families later,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters on Monday.
The first video, released Sunday, showed clips of the three hostages – Noa Argamani, Itai Svirsky and Yossi Sharabi – speaking to a camera. It ended with a caption saying, “Tomorrow, we will inform you of their fate.”
A second video, released Monday, in an apparent attempt by Hamas to ramp up concerns, repeated the message that the fate of the three hostages would soon be made public.
The third video, released later Monday, appeared to show the dead bodies of two of the hostages, Svirsky and Sharabi. It also featured Noa Argamani saying both men had been killed by Israeli bombing.
It is not clear if Argamani was speaking under duress. The video is also highly edited, with the adding of audio effects and the looping of some of her words.
IDF chief spokesperson Daniel Hagari addressed the videos in his Monday evening briefing saying Itai Svirsky had not been hit by Israeli forces as the third video claimed. He said the IDF had not struck the building where the three were being held, as the video also claimed, but had hit nearby.
“We do not strike in places where we know there may be hostages,” Hagari said. “In hindsight, we know we struck targets near to the location where they were being held. We are investigating the event and its circumstances, examining the images distributed by Hamas, alongside additional information at our disposal.”
The army spokesperson added that IDF representatives had met with the families of the three hostages and updated them on the latest information they had, adding the IDF “expressed grave concern” for the fate of two of the captives.
CNN is not airing the videos, and it is not immediately possible to verify when and where they were filmed.
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SOURCE: www.edition.cnn.com
