Israeli Hostage's Family Urges World to Remember Need for Negotiated Deal

An Israeli hostage's family is appealing to the international community to focus on the importance of a negotiated deal. They hope a recently released video of their loved one will highlight the urgency of their situation and encourage efforts towards a peaceful resolution. Their plea emphasizes the need for global attention and action to secure the hostage's release and promote broader peace efforts.

Naama Levy's brother stated that the family released a distressing video of her and other female hostages being kidnapped to urge the world and its leaders to push for a deal to secure their release. Nineteen-year-old Naama and six other young women were abducted by Hamas gunmen from the Nahal Oz military base on October 7, where they were serving as observers. In a widely circulated Hamas video, Naama is seen with bloodstains on her trousers, her hands tied, and her ankles cut.

Now, the families of Naama and four other women have decided to release additional video footage captured by the body cameras worn by the Hamas kidnappers. The footage shows the moment the teenagers were seized and tied up after the gunmen had killed others at the base.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find disturbing.

In the three-minute video, the gunmen are seen yelling at the women, some of whom are still in their pajamas and have bloody faces. The women are tied up against a wall before being forced into a jeep, visibly injured. The gunmen shout in Arabic, "You dogs, we will step on you... we will shoot you all." One of them says in English, "You're beautiful."

Naama, her face covered in blood, responds in English, "I have friends in Palestine," referring to her involvement in an Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. Her family describes her as "a peace seeker."

Naama's brother, Amit, is visiting London to campaign for his sister’s release. He expressed concerns that the indirect talks between Israel and Hamas to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are in "a very bad place."

"We hope that this video will encourage all sides to get back to the table and understand that it’s an unbearable humanitarian issue that needs to be solved," he told the BBC. "This might be the last chance to save them."

Amit described the video released on Thursday as "a very hard watch... seeing my little sister with such a... such a look in her eyes." He added, "I never imagined I would see her this frightened and hurt."

Despite the distressing nature of the footage, Amit also found strength in it. "We feel like she's handling the situation like the true superhero she is, like a hero fighting for her life."

Of the seven female observers kidnapped from Nahal Oz, one, Noa Marciano, was killed in Gaza. The Israeli military found her body in a building near Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital in November. Another observer, Ori Megidish, was rescued by Israeli forces during an operation inside Gaza at the end of October.

Teenagers Liri Albag, 18, Karina Ariev, 19, Daniela Gilboa, 19, and Agam Berger, 19, are still being held captive along with Naama. They have been hostages for 229 days.

After seeing the video of Naama with bloodied trousers during her kidnapping and hearing testimonies from other hostages, her family is deeply concerned about the risk of sexual assault.

“It’s very, very hard for us. It's a fear ever since 7 October that doesn't leave me, 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 are being harassed. And it's a fear that is painful in ways that are indescribable. We just have to keep fighting for her to get out of this hell.”

Naama’s mother, Ayelet, stated: “We only see in that video a fraction of the horrible things that are happening in their surroundings in the shelter. She is terrified and wounded, there is fear in her eyes, and she is saying what she can, she is begging for her life. The top priority is to bring her home, bring them all home now.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum commented: “The disturbing video has been the reality for Agam, Daniela, Liri, Naama, Karina, and 123 other hostages for 229 days. The video is a damning testament to the nation's failure to bring home the hostages. The Israeli government must not waste even one more moment and must return to the negotiating table today.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his shock at the footage and vowed to do everything possible to bring the hostages home. “The brutality of the Hamas terrorists only strengthens my determination to fight with all my strength until the elimination of Hamas, to ensure that what we saw tonight will never happen again,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Source: bbc