Jerusalem: Israeli television aired previously withheld footage on Wednesday, showing five female army conscripts in pajamas being captured by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 raid that ignited the Gaza conflict.Captives families seek truceThe families of the captives hope the footage will increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate a truce with Hamas and secure the hostages release. The government sees the release of the three-minute subtitled clip to national and international media as an opportunity to garner support.Government calls for supportThese girls are still in the captivity of Hamas. Please dont look away, government spokesperson David Mencer urged reporters. Watch the film. Support Israel in bringing our people home.Dramatic footage releasedThe video shows the young women, appearing stunned and some bloodied, being bound and forced into a jeep. In the footage, 19-year-old Naama Levy pleads in English, I have friends in Palestine. A gunman responds in Arabic, You are dogs! We will step on you, dogs!Hostages families forums pleaThe Hostages Families Forum, representing relatives of the 124 people - mostly civilians - still held by Hamas, stated the footage was recovered from bodycams worn by the attackers who stormed the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel. Shots of killed Israeli soldiers were excluded, and the publication was approved by the families of the five captives.The Israeli government must not waste another moment it must return to the negotiating table today! the Forum urged.*TRIGGER WARNING*Trigger alert –The video of the female observers abduction, is a wake-up call to the civilized world. We must condemn those actions and we can not abandon the hostages held captive for 229 days.This video, captured by the body cameras of Hamas terrorists on October 7th,… pic.twitter.com/wuRxpsTBtA— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) May 22, 2024Heavy toll of the conflictIsrael reports that 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 abducted in the October 7 attack led by Hamas. Israel responded with an offensive aimed at eliminating the Islamist group, resulting in more than 35,000 Palestinian deaths according to Gaza health authorities. The Israeli military reports 286 Israeli soldiers have also been killed.Governments stanceNetanyahus government maintains that continued military pressure will force Hamas to yield. However, hostage families fear for their loved ones survival and worry that the women captives may be subjected to sexual violence, an allegation Hamas denies.So please, please do whatever you can to, to bring them home, Orly Gilboa, whose daughter Daniela is a hostage, told Reuters. They suffer there every minute, every second. And every minute is important.Diplomatic effortsIsraels Foreign Ministry announced that the ambassadors of Ireland, Norway, and Spain, who were summoned to protest their governments preparations to recognize a Palestinian state, will be shown the video in a special screening on Thursday.
