Hamas release sick footage with hostage forced to say her two fellow captives are dead

Footage released by terror group purportedly showing bodies of fellow Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirsky
Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, and Noa Argamani are being held hostage by Hamas
Daniel Keane15 January 2024

Hamas have released a video it claims shows the dead bodies of two hostages held in Gaza.

Footage released by the Palestinian militant group purportedly shows the bodies of Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, who had appeared in an initial video on Sunday.

It also appeared to show a third Israeli hostage, Noa Argamani, 26, saying the two were killed by “our own IDF strikes,” referring to the Israeli military.

Ms Argamani is speaking as a hostage and it has not been independently confirmed that the two hostages have died.

It is not known where the footage was filmed.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari accused Hamas of lying.

He said: "Itay was not exposed to fire from our forces - this is a lie. The building they were in was not targeted, nor was it bombed by our forces.

"We did not know in real time the whereabouts of the kidnappers. We do not target any place where we know there may be kidnappers.

"We have already bombed targets close to where they were detained, and we are currently investigating the incident and its circumstances and examining the photos published by Hamas along with other information we have."

The three are among some 240 people taken hostage by Hamas during a surprise cross-border rampage into southern Israel on October 7. Around 1,200 Israelis were killed during the incursion.

Around half of the hostages were released during a short-lived ceasefire in November, but Israel says that 132 remain in Gaza.

It ended with the caption: "Tomorrow (Monday) we will inform you of their fate."

Israel's defence minister has accused Hamas of carrying out “psychological abuse”.

He added that the IDF's operation in southern Gaza was nearing its end.

In other developments, Israeli forces continued bombarding targets across the Palestinian enclave on Monday and clashing with the militants in southern and central areas.

Twelve Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike overnight on a house in Gaza City in the north, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Plumes of smoke were also seen above the main southern city of Khan Younis shelled by Israeli tanks.

Almost two million displaced people are sheltering in tents and other temporary accommodation in southern Gaza amid the fighting, and are facing increased risks of starvation and disease due to chronic shortages of food, fuel and medicines.

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