By Anugrah KumarChristian Mail Contributor Tuesday, September 03, 2024

Hamas released a propaganda video containing the alleged last messages of six hostages whose bodies were discovered over the weekend, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

In the pre-recorded video posted by the terrorist group's Telegram account on Monday, the hostages appear emaciated and tired, delivering somber messages in a disturbing black-and-white format.

The video, entitled “We Will Show Their Last Messages”, shows each hostage stating their name and origin.

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Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American Jerusalem resident who was abducted during the Re'im music festival massacre on October 7 last year, was notably missing part of his arm, the result of a grenade attack during his abduction. .

The other victims seen speaking in the footage were Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27. Israel Defense Forces discovered the bodies of all six hostages on Saturday during an operation. in tunnels under the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

In another video released by Hamas, Yerushalmi calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “do what is necessary to free” the hostages, according to Middle East Monitor. Yerushalmi stated that the Israeli government had previously released hundreds of Palestinian detainees in exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit, noting that Hamas is asking less now for each hostage it holds.

“Am I worth less?” Yerushalmi questions.

In a statement released by the Hostage and Missing Family Forum and reported by The Times of IsraelYerushalmi's family said she will be missed “like crazy” and will be “forever in our hearts.”

According to Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, the hostages were “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them.”

For the past 11 months, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin have actively sought international support for their son Hersh and other hostages.

In an early April interview with The New York Postsix months after the abduction of their only son, Polin expressed frustration at the lack of progress.

“It's completely unacceptable that it's been six months and we're still not seeing any real traction to bring our loved ones home,” she said. “All of us – our political leaders, across Israel, across the US, Hamas, Egypt, Qatar – we are all failing [the hostages].”

The video and the tragic deaths caused significant public outcry and protests.

Netanyahu expressed his devastation at the “cold-blooded murder” of the hostages and criticized the actions as indicative of Hamas' reluctance to engage in peace talks.

“He who murders abductees does not want a deal,” Netanyahu declared.

Hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens took to the streets in a general strike for a second consecutive day on Monday, organized by Israel's largest trade union and demanding government action to push forward a hostage deal, CNN. reported.

The union threatened that the “entire Israeli economy will shut down.”

Israel launched its offensive to eradicate Hamas, a terrorist group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, after the terrorist group killed around 1,200 Israelis during an October 7, 2023 attack on communities in southern Israel. About 240 individuals were taken hostage, some of whom were released and others killed. Hamas's Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began. That figure does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Officials involved in mediating the ceasefire talks have been in continuous communication, discussing strategies to advance the ceasefire and hostage negotiations, sources told CNN.

However, while Netanyahu has reportedly said Israel will never abandon the Philadelphia corridor, Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya insists there would be no deal if the IDF does not withdraw from the corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border.

Netanyahu's critics, including some international figures, pointed to the release of the video and the subsequent deaths of the hostages as a failure of leadership.