Hostage group in Israel releases new videos on October 7, sparking outrage over Netanyahu's television interview.
The video, published Monday night by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, depicts Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Or Levy, and Eliya Cohen in the back of a truck, being driven on a road lined with trees in southern Israel by militants brandishing assault rifles. One of the armed individuals can be heard saying, "Here are the dogs, here they are."
Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American-Israeli citizen, is shown with a bloodied face and what appears to be a bone protruding from his left arm - the result of a grenade explosion that destroyed a bunker he and several others were hiding in, evading Hamas gunmen.
Hamas released a video featuring Goldberg-Polin in April, offering the first evidence that he was still alive. In the video, he criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu's administration, a common theme amongst Israeli hostages in Hamas propaganda videos, likely recorded under duress. At the time, he had been in Gaza for six months.
The video was released a day after Netanyahu, in his initial one-on-one interview with local Israeli media since October 7, expressed his readiness to make a "partial deal" with Hamas to free the remaining hostages still held captive in Gaza - a shift in Israel's war objectives that drew swift criticism from the hostages' Forum, which has since gained significant political influence in Israel.
Netanyahu's interview statements contradicted the objectives of a broader Israeli ceasefire proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden last month, which aims to release all remaining hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The Forum released a statement, stating, "This harrowing footage serves as a chilling reminder of the 262-day-long neglect of our loved ones. Hersh, Eliya, and Or were taken alive, and they must return alive, today. Each day that passes increases the hostages' risk and decreases our chances of safely bringing them home."
Earlier, the Forum had stated, in what appeared to be a jab at Netanyahu, that "the end of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, without the release of the hostages, is an unprecedented national failure and a failure to meet the aims of the war."
Israeli political figure Gadi Eisenkot - who resigned from Israel's war cabinet a week before Netanyahu disbanded it - also condemned Netanyahu's comments, stating, "There are soldiers who are fighting now because their mission is to return the hostages."
In a brief statement issued after his interview on Sunday, Netanyahu's office attempted to clarify his comments, stating that he "has made it clear that we will not leave Gaza until we have returned all 120 of our hostages, both living and deceased."
Seeking to further distance himself from these comments, Netanyahu informed the Knesset on Monday, "We are steadfast in our adherence to the Israeli proposal that President Biden welcomed. Our stance has remained unchanged."
The release of the video may be designed to rekindle the focus of Israel's security cabinet, reminding Netanyahu and other high-ranking officials of the war's initial purpose: to free the hostages, many of whom are still being held in Gaza nearly nine months after their abduction.
Goldberg-Polin, Levy, and Cohen were kidnapped from the Nova music festival during Hamas' deadly onslaught, during which its militants killed approximately 1,200 people and captured roughly 250 others.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh's mother, later learned from eyewitnesses that around 29 people had sought refuge in a shelter outside the festival before Hamas started hurling grenades inside. Eight individuals survived by hiding beneath the corpses of the deceased, while Goldberg-Polin was among the hostages taken captive. A firsthand account from a young woman in the bunker reported that Goldberg-Polin had helped throw some of the grenades out before his left arm was blown off from the elbow down.
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The international community has expressed concern over the situation, calling for the safe release of the hostages and a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.
Despite the ongoing crisis in Gaza, leaders from around the world have urged for peace negotiations and a resolution that prioritizes the welfare of civilians in the region, including the hostages being held in captivity.
