Hamas, Israeli, hostage, appeal, video. Israeli hostages who appear to be Yosef-Haim Ohana and Elkan Bohbot speak in a video published March 24 by Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Military Media
Hamas has released a new video purporting to show two Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group calling on the Israeli government to allow freed hostages to speak out about the conditions of their captivity in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
The clip was released Monday by Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, and shows two men, who identify themselves as "Prisoner 21," believed to be Yosef Haim Ohana, and "Prisoner 22," believed to be Elkana Bohbot. Both were abducted from the Nova music festival during the Hamas-led surprise attack on Israel from nearby Gaza on October 7, 2023, and are among the 59 hostages still believed to be held by the group.
The clip comes nearly a week after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) resumed strikes in Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement reached with Hamas in January.
"We, the prisoners in Gaza, want to tell you about our situation," Ohana said in the clip. "We want you to know that Hamas did not ask us to say this, that this video clip is not intended for psychological warfare. We are the ones who asked and begged to be heard. Please hear our voice."
Such claims have been challenged by Israel in the past. Israeli officials consider such clips depicting hostages to be propaganda attempts by Hamas to weaponize claims made by captives under duress.
Ohana went on to describe Israel's decision to scrap the truce as a "severe blow," leading to a swift deterioration in living conditions as result of nearby attacks, the closure of border crossings and dwindling supplies, including food. Bohbot then accused the Israeli government of "silencing" the voices of freed hostages, including that of a man named "Ohad," possibly Ohad Ben Yami, who was freed last month.
"Let them speak. Let the truth come out. Everyone who has left here should be allowed and be granted to the right to speak," Bohbot said. "Why is everyone being silenced? Why? Ohad, why don't you tell them? You were here with us. You were sitting with us. Speak for us. Explain to everyone what we've been going through. Let everyone know."
"You know how much we're suffering, we're going through here," he continued. "You know how it was during the deal and during the war. You returned to your wife and daughters. I was hoping that after a few weeks I would be able to go out to my wife, but I haven't gone out yet. Explain to them how hard it is for me to stay here every day, every day without my son and my wife. Tell them how much we're suffering. Tell them how different it is."
Both men begin to shout, "Tell them, Ohad," before the video cuts to a message from Hamas reading "Only a Ceasefire Agreement Bring Them Back Alive," followed by "Time is Running Out."
Newsweek has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
Why It Matters
Some 251 people are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas during its October 2023 attack that Israeli officials say also killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
The subsequent war has led to the deaths of more than 50,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory's Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not distinguish people combatants and non-combatants. Hundreds of deaths have been recorded since the collapse of the ceasefire last week.
Hours after the latest Hamas video was published, the IDF reported that "two projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip were intercepted by the IAF [Israeli Air Force]."
Earlier, the IDF reported on the killing of Hamas Political Bureau member Ismail Barhoum, described as the head of Hamas' finances and successor to head of the group's government, Essam al-Da'ais, who was killed last week in an Israeli raid. Barhoum was said to have been killed in a strike conducted against Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Israel is also contending with an intensified missile and drone campaign by Yemen's Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, a member of the Iran-aligned Axis of Resistance coalition that has intervened in support of Hamas. The IDF reported on the interception of a projectile originating from Yemen on Monday.
What To Know
The video has been reviewed by Israel's Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents those taken by Hamas. The forum shared with Newsweek a statement on behalf of Bohbot's family.
"For 535 days, Elkana has been in an ongoing hell," the statement said. "The video shows he is in poor condition, having lost a significant amount of weight due to persistent starvation. He suffers from skin and breathing problems in addition to being asthmatic, and has not seen daylight for almost a year and a half!"
The statement added: "This video is further proof that Elkana must return home to his family, to his wife Rivka and his son Ra'am David. Elkana is crying out for help, begging us not to forget him in the tunnel hell."
The statement also contained a direct appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, calling on them to "please, imagine this is your son, the father of your grandchild, waiting to see daylight, hearing IDF bombs, and living in constant fear for his life."
Such pleas, accompanied by growing protests among Israelis calling for a resumption of the ceasefire, may add to the internal pressure on Netanyahu since he resumed the offensive in Gaza last week.
Netanyahu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday about "regional developments, including releasing the hostages and the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip," according to the Israeli premier's office.
What People Are Saying
Family of Elkana Bohbot in a statement shared with Newsweek by the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum on Monday: "Every day Ra'am asks about his father. When will we be able to tell him his father is coming home? This child too trapped in a dark tunnel and in captivity."
"The video is a sign of life, but we want Elkana alive at home and the return of everyone!" his family said. "It's time to end the suffering not only of the families but of an entire nation that wants them home."
Hamas in a statement issued Monday following the video's publication in response to ongoing Israeli strikes in Gaza: "The brutal attack being carried out by the occupation army on Tal al-Sultan and the Saudi neighborhoods, as well as the Baraksat (warehouses) area in Rafah, and the siege of more than 50,000 unarmed civilians under relentless air and artillery bombardment, along with the repeated targeting of the Mawasi area in Khan Younis and the savage targeting of medical and rescue teams, all constitute documented war crimes and are part of the occupation's systematic genocide policy against our people in Gaza. This is a flagrant violation of international norms and laws, particularly international humanitarian law."
"We warn against the occupation army's potential intention to commit even more crimes and massacres against innocent civilians, especially in light of tragic reports of executed martyrs and wounded individuals who cannot be reached or rescued due to the severe siege and relentless brutal bombardment."
"We call on the Arab nations, the United Nations, and all the free people worldwide to take urgent and decisive action to halt this horrific crime and bring an end to the ongoing genocide carried out by the Zionist occupation against our Palestinian people around the clock."
The U.S. State Department's readout of a call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday: "Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to emphasize U.S. support for Israel. The Secretary discussed Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza, and efforts to help release the hostages and bring them home."
"The Secretary also conveyed the Administration's determination to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea through military operations against the Iranian-backed Houthis."
What Happens Next?
Since the beginning of the conflict, Netanyahu has stated that he would not halt the war until all hostages were released, Hamas was eliminated as a functioning military and political entity and Gaza was rendered incapable of posing a future threat to Israel.
While the first phase of what was originally outlined last year by then-President Joe Biden to be a three-phase ceasefire deal marked a temporary lull in the conflict, Netanyahu has determined that Hamas must be pressured on the battlefield rather than at the negotiating table. Trump, who took credit for the deal's breakthrough in January, has said he would not stand in the way of the Israeli premier's calculus.
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This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM.