Hamas issues new hostage video, Israel says ‘will not be deterred’

Jerusalem: Hamas released a video of Israeli-Argentine hostage Eitan Horn, who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and has been held in the Gaza Strip ever since.

The video, authorised by Horn’s family for release in Israeli media, shows Eitan, 38, parting ways with his elder brother Iair, who was also kidnapped but freed two weeks ago under the 42-day initial phase of a Gaza truce deal between Israel and Hamas, which expired earlier on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The footage also includes hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, freed together with Iair, and two other hostages with their faces blurred.

In the video, Eitan pleaded, “Get everyone out and don’t separate families anymore,” urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move on to the second phase of the truce deal to secure the release of remaining hostages.

In response, Netanyahu’s office denounced the video as “Hamas propaganda,” in which “hostages are forced to convey psychological warfare messages.”

It stressed in a statement that “Israel will not be deterred” and “will continue to work tirelessly to return all hostages and meet all war goals.”

The negotiations over the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire agreement currently face an impasse. Hamas called for international pressure on Israel to proceed to the second phase of the deal, while Israel insisted on only extending the first phase for an additional 42 days with more swaps of hostages and detainees.

Currently, 59 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with 24 of them still believed to be alive.

Earlier Hamas said that the Israeli proposal of extending the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement is “unacceptable”.

“The extension of the first phase as proposed by the occupation is unacceptable to us, and the mediators and guarantor countries are required to oblige the occupation to abide by the agreement in its various stages,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Saturday.

–IANS