Lucy Manning,Special Correspondent, BBC News
Forum on hostages and missing familiesThe brother of Israeli hostage Naama Levy said the family’s decision to release a harrowing new video of the moment his sister and other female hostages were kidnapped was intended to remind the world and world leaders that they must lobby for an agreement to secure their release.
Nineteen-year-old Naama and six other young women were taken by Hamas gunmen on October 7 from the Nahal Oz military base, where they served as observers monitoring surveillance cameras on Gaza’s perimeter fence, proximity.
In a Hamas video already seen around the world when she was taken to Gaza, Naama was shown with blood around the crotch of her pants, her hands tied and her ankles cut.
Today, the families of Naama and four of the other women decided to release more video footage taken by body cameras worn by the Hamas captors. It shows the moment they captured and tied up the teens, after killing others at the base.
Warning: This article contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.
In the three minutes of video, the armed men can be seen shouting at the women, some still in their pajamas, most of whom have bloody faces. They are tied against a wall before being crammed into a jeep with obvious injuries.
The armed men tell them in Arabic: “You dogs, we will step on you… we will shoot you all.” »
We say in English: “You are beautiful”.
Naama, his face covered in blood, said to them in English: “I have friends in Palestine.” She had previously participated in an Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. Her family calls her a “peace seeker.”
Forum on hostages and missing familiesNaama’s brother Amit is visiting London to campaign for his sister’s release.
He said indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement on the release of hostages were “in a very bad way.”
“We hope that this video will encourage all parties to come back to the table and understand that this is an unbearable humanitarian problem that must be resolved,” he told the BBC. “This may be the last chance to save them.”
Amit said that when he saw the video released Thursday, it was “very difficult viewing… to see my little sister with such… such a look in her eyes.”
“I never imagined seeing her so scared and hurt,” he added.
But he also said the video gave him strength.
“We feel like she’s handling the situation like the true superhero she is, like a hero fighting for her life.”
Among the seven Nahal Oz observers who were kidnapped, one – Noa Marciano – was killed in Gaza. The Israeli army declared troops found his body in a building near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City in November.
Another, Ori Megidish, was rescued by Israeli forces during an operation inside Gaza in late October.
Teenagers Liri Albag, 18, Karina Ariev, 19, Daniela Gilboa, 19, and Agam Berger, 19, are still detained alongside Naama. They have been hostages for 229 days.
After seeing the video of Naama with bloody pants during her kidnapping and hearing the testimonies of other hostages, her family fears the risks of sexual assault.
“It’s very, very hard for us. It’s a fear since October 7 that doesn’t leave me, that doesn’t leave anyone in the family,” Amit said.
“We realize that there is… there is a chance, maybe even a good chance, that Naama and other girls and men will be harassed. And it is a fear that is painful in an indescribable way. We just have to keep fighting to get her out of this hell.
Naama’s mother, Ayelet, said in a statement: “In this video we see only a fraction of the horrible things happening around the shelter.
“She is terrified and hurt, there is fear in her eyes, and she says what she can, she begs for her life.
“The top priority is to get her home, to get them all home now.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said: “The disturbing video is the reality of Agam, Daniela, Liri, Naama, Karina and 123 other hostages for 229 days.
“The video is a damning testimony to the country’s failure to bring the hostages home. The Israeli government must not waste another moment and must return to the negotiating table today.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “shocked” by the images and promised to do everything to bring the hostages home.
“The brutality of Hamas terrorists only strengthens my resolve to fight with all my might until Hamas is eliminated, to ensure that what we saw tonight will never happen again,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
