The undated 37-second video of Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, released on Sunday night showed them speaking presumably under duress, pleading with Israel’s government to end the war and get them home.
The clip ended with a Hamas caption that on Monday, “we will inform you of their fate”. Israel has blasted such videos as psychological warfare and insists it will not be deflected from its goals in Gaza, after Hamas launched raids into southern Israel on October 7 that claimed 1,200 lives.
Among the targets was a music festival from which Ms Argamani and her boyfriend were seized. An early clip released by Hamas showed her pleading for her life as she was taken away on the back of a motorbike.
I just don’t see a way that will end well for both sides when one side is exploiting the hatred towards another, while the other side is not keen on enabling such an extremist group.