“We decided to release it now and expose ourselves, to undress on television, to reveal the most sensitive thing for the families, and we do it because we want our government to wake up,” Mr Elbag told Channel 12 on Wednesday.
Hostage talks between Israel and Hamas broke down earlier this month with seemingly unbridgeable differences.
Even if a partial release of hostages is negotiated, the five young IDF conscripts are unlikely to be included. Priority is expected to go to the wounded, children, elderly people and civilian women whom Hamas has in captivity.
The overwhelming majority of the remaining 128 Israeli hostages are civilians, not combatants.
Footage comes from bodycam
The three-minute video comes from the bodycam of a Hamas fighter. It was seized by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), which edited it so it does not show the bodies of the murdered soldiers.
Liri Elbag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, still dressed in their pyjamas because the base was overrun at dawn, look terrified in the video.
They are seen in a room full of dozens of camouflage-clad Hamas fighters, armed with machine guns, who scream at the young women and pin them against a wall to handcuff them.
When one of the women tries to say in English that she has friends in Palestine – she reportedly volunteered for charities helping the West Bank – the attackers shout her down, with one saying: “Our brothers died because of you, we will shoot all of you.”
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
