The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, recently published a video showing a man held captive in Gaza by Palestinian militants. In the footage, the man is seen speaking under duress, with superimposed text in Arabic and Hebrew that reads: ‘Time is running out. Your government is lying.
The video shows the hostage, identified as a British national, with a black eye and speaking while clearly under duress.
❗️🇵🇸🇮🇱 Hamas releases another hostage video showing Israeli-British Nadav Popplewell, 51, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nirim and sustained injuries from his own government's carpet bombing pic.twitter.com/8CkHLl5bEL
— HOT SPOT (@HotSpotHotSpot) May 11, 2024
Despite the absence of other visible injuries, he wears a white T-shirt and introduces himself as 51-year-old Popplewell from Kibbutz Nirim in southern Israel.
During Hamas’s attack on October 7, Popplewell was abducted from his home alongside his mother, Hanna Peri. She was later released during a one-week truce in November, which marked the only pause in the ongoing conflict that has lasted for over seven months. Tragically, Popplewell’s older brother lost his life in the same attack.
Remarkably, this is the third time in less than a month that the group has released footage of captives held in Gaza.
“Every sign of life received from the hostages held by Hamas is another cry of distress to the Israeli government and its leaders,” the families’ group said in its statement on Saturday.
“We don’t have a moment to spare! You must strive to implement a deal that will bring them all back today.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to reach an agreement with Hamas. However, despite several rounds of indirect negotiations, the two opposing factions have yet to find common ground.
On October 7, Hamas operatives abducted 250 people to the Gaza Strip during an attack on southern Israel. Israeli authorities report that 128 of these individuals remain captive in Palestinian territory, with 36 confirmed fatalities.
The incident led to the loss of more than 1,170 lives, primarily civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.
During Israel’s counteroffensive military operations in Gaza, a staggering 34,971 lives have been lost. Tragically, the majority of these casualties are women and children, as reported by the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory.
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