Hamas releases new hostage video and says it is “studying” a counter-proposal for an Israeli truce

Three days after publishing proof of the life of a 23-year-old hostage, the Palestinian terrorist group released a video on Saturday showing two men aged 47 and 64 held in Gaza.

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A protester holds portraits of Israeli hostages during a rally to demand their release, April 27, 2024, in Tel Aviv (Israel).  (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas released a video on Saturday April 27 showing two Israeli hostages kidnapped during its October 7 attack in southern Israel. Filmed sitting on a plastic chair and speaking presumably under duress, the two men introduce themselves as Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47. The Hostage Families Forum confirmed their identity.

“We are in danger here, there are bombs, it’s stressful and scary”, says Keith Siegel in the video, before calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate to quickly reach an agreement. Omri Miran describes “a difficult situation” because of “numerous bombings” Israelis in the Gaza Strip. He calls on his family to pressure the government to reach an agreement with Hamas allowing the release of the hostages.

The Palestinian Islamist movement had already released, on Wednesday, a video of another Israeli hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, filmed in the same conditions. Hamas announced on Saturday, “to study” an Israeli counter-proposal for a truce in the fighting in Gaza associated with the release of hostages. He had previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire, a hypothesis rejected by Israel, which prefers a pause of several weeks in the fighting.


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