Tel Aviv releases film of hostages

JERUSALEM, May 22

Israeli television aired previously withheld footage on Wednesday of five pyjama-clad woman army conscripts being seized by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 raid that triggered the Gaza war.

The government saw the release of the subtitled three-minute clip to national and international media as an opportunity to shore up support. “These girls are still in the captivity of Hamas. Please don’t look away,” government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters. “Watch the film. Support Israel in bringing our people home.”

The footage shows the young women, all of them stunned and some bloodied, being bound and bundled into a jeep.

“I have friends in Palestine,” one of the conscripts, 19-year-old Naama Levy, pleads in English. One of the gunmen can be heard shouting back in Arabic: “You are dogs! We will step on you, dogs!”

Another gunman tells a captive: “You’re beautiful.” The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of the 124 people still held by Hamas, said the footage was recovered from bodycams worn by gunmen who attacked the Nahal Oz base. — Reuters