Hamas has launched a video of a 19-year-old Israeli hostage amid a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In an undated recording, Liri Albag – certainly one of 5 feminine troopers kidnapped in Hamas’s October 7 assault – speaks below duress and shares her anguish at having been held for 450 days.
Talking in Hebrew, she requires the Israeli authorities to safe her launch and says: “Today is the beginning of a new year; the whole world is celebrating. Only we are entering a dark year, a year of loneliness.”
Ms Albag – who has turned 19 whereas being held hostage – provides {that a} fellow, unnamed captive has been injured. “We are living in an extremely terrifying nightmare,” she says.
{The teenager}’s household mentioned the video has “torn our hearts to pieces”.
“This is not the daughter and sister we know. Her severe psychological distress is evident,” they mentioned in an announcement shared by the Hostages and Lacking Households Discussion board.
The household has not given permission for the video of Ms Albag to be shared publicly however they’ve authorised the discharge of two images.
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Ms Albag’s family members are calling on the Israeli authorities and world leaders to make use of the present ceasefire talks to convey all remaining hostages again alive.
“It’s time to make decisions as if your own children were there,” they mentioned.
The workplace for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, mentioned he has spoken Ms Albag’s mother and father and informed them efforts to convey hostages residence are “ongoing, including at this very moment”.
“Anyone who dares to harm our hostages will bear full responsibility for their actions,” he mentioned.
Picture:
Liri Albag was taken from Nahal Oz. Pic: Deliver Them House Now
Roughly 250 folks had been taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and as of December final yr, 96 remained within the group’s custody.
Israel’s subsequent navy offensive in Gaza has killed a minimum of 45,805 Palestinians, in response to the territory’s Hamas-run well being ministry.
It mentioned 88 folks have been killed up to now 24 hours. At the least 17 had been killed in airstrikes on properties in Gaza Metropolis on Saturday.
A number of kids had been amongst those that died, medics mentioned.
Picture:
Palestinians collect on the web site of an Israeli strike on a home in Gaza Metropolis. Pic: Reuters
Hamas’s video of Ms Albag, and Israel’s airstrikes, come amid a contemporary push for an settlement to finish the battle in Gaza.
Israeli representatives arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Friday to renew oblique ceasefire talks brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
Hamas has mentioned it’s dedicated to reaching an settlement, however it’s unclear how shut the 2 sides are.
Joe Biden, whose US presidency involves an finish in simply over a fortnight’s time, has urged Hamas to agree a deal – whereas president-elect Donald Trump has mentioned there’ll “be hell to pay” in Gaza if the hostages usually are not launched earlier than his inauguration on 20 January.
