Hamas’s armed wing released a video on their Telegram channel on Monday night showing three of the elderly male Israeli hostages still in captivity.
In the video, the hostages plead for Israel’s help in securing their release, stating that they do not want to be killed by an Israel Air Force strike.
The three men – identified by Israel as 79-year-old Chaim Peri, 80-year-old Yoram Metzger, and 84-year-old Amiram Cooper – were taken hostage over 10 weeks ago with about 240 others by Hamas infiltrators who carried out a killing spree in Israeli communities.
The three men, all with beards, are seen sitting next to each other in the video, which Hamas posted to Telegram.
Sitting in the middle, Peri speaks to the camera, saying he and other elderly hostages who have health issues are “suffering greatly in very harsh conditions.”
He pleaded for Israel to secure their unconditional release.
Peri was at his house in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack. He tried to repel the gunmen while hiding his wife behind a sofa, his son later told Reuters. He eventually gave himself up to save his wife, who remained hidden.
“We are the generation who built the foundation for the creation of Israel. We are the ones who started the IDF military. We don’t understand why we have been abandoned here,” he said.
“You have to release us from here. It does not matter the cost. We don’t want to be casualties as a direct result of the IDF military airstrikes. Release us with no conditions. Don’t let us grow old here,” he added.
“Do not let us grow old here”
The video ends with all three men repeating the phrase in unison, “Don’t let us grow old here.”
IDF Spokesperson Rr-Adm. Daniel Hagari called it “a criminal, terrorist video” that shows “Hamas’ cruelty against very elderly civilians, innocents who need medical care.”
“Chaim, Yoram and Amiram. I hope that you hear me this evening,” Hagari said in a televised briefing. “Know this – we are doing everything, everything, in order to return you back safely.”
As negotiations continue regarding another hostage deal between Hamas and Israel, Hamas official Osama Hamdan reiterated on Monday the group’s position that any negotiations on a hostage exchange were off the table until Israel stops its war on Gaza.
“We are open to initiatives from Qatar and Egypt about a hostage exchange that would stop the war in Gaza”, Hamdan told a press conference in Beirut.
This is a developing story.
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