CNN
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A group representing Israeli hostages and their families released a video of the October 7 kidnapping of three Israelis by Hamas, shortly after the group condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal. was that Israel could make a “partial deal” with the militant group. Of the hostages, but not all.
The video, released Monday evening by the Forum for Hostages and Missing Families, shows Hirsch Goldberg Pollen, and Levi and Elia Cohen in the back of a pickup truck, which is being driven by militants armed with assault weapons. Driving on a tree-lined road in Israel. One of the gunmen can be heard saying, “Here's the dogs, here they are.”
Goldberg Pollan, an American-Israeli citizen, aged 23, can be seen with a bloodied face and what appears to be a bone protruding from his left arm – blown up after a grenade was thrown into the bunker. given in which he and several others were present. Hiding from Hamas gunmen.
Hamas released a video of Goldberg-Pollin in April, the first evidence that he survived the blast. In the video, he criticizes Netanyahu's government, as have other Israeli hostages in Hamas propaganda videos. Having been in Gaza for six months at the time, he was almost certainly speaking under duress.
The video was released a day after Netanyahu, in his first one-on-one interview with local Israeli media since Oct. 7, said he was seeking a “partial deal” with Hamas to return some hostages held in Gaza. are ready for The apparent relaxation of one of Israel's war aims drew sharp rebuke from the Hostage Forum, which has become a powerful political force in Israel.
Netanyahu's comments on Israel's Channel 14 contradicted the goals of a broader Israeli ceasefire proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden last month, which would include a permanent cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces in return for all remaining hostages. Conditions were set for release.
“This heartbreaking footage stands as a damning testament to the 262-day long abandonment of our loved ones. Harsh, Elia, and Or were taken alive, and they must return alive today. Every day. What passes puts the hostages at greater risk and reduces our chances of safely returning them,” the forum said in a statement, calling for a deal that would bring all hostages home.
Earlier, the forum said – in a clear swipe at Netanyahu – that “the end of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, without the release of the hostages, is an unprecedented national failure and a failure to meet the goals of the war.”
Israeli opposition figure Geddy Eisenkot – who resigned from Israel's war cabinet a week before Netanyahu dissolved it – also criticized Netanyahu's comments, saying “there are soldiers who are now are fighting because they have war motives to return the hostages.”
In a brief statement released after his interview on Sunday, Netanyahu's office sought to clarify his comments, saying he had “made it clear that we will not leave Gaza until then.” Until we return all 120 of our hostages, living and dead.”
Seeking to walk back even further his explosive comments, Netanyahu told the Knesset on Monday: “We are committed to the Israeli proposal that President Biden welcomed. Our position has not changed.”
Faiz Abu Ramilah/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
Relatives and supporters of the Israeli hostages demand their release at a protest in Tel Aviv in April.
The release of the video may be aimed at refocusing minds in Israel's security cabinet, reminding Netanyahu and other top officials of the initial goal of the war, the return of the hostages, most of them nearly nine months after their abduction. Lives in Gaza.
It came as the Israeli military announced that the number of hostages killed rose to 42, as one of its soldiers, Sergeant Major Muhammad al-Tarash, 39, was killed on October 7 and his body was recovered by Hamas. There is a pass. Earlier, on June 8, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said it believed at least 41 hostages had been killed in the October 7 attack, whose bodies were kept in the Gaza Strip.
At least five American hostages are believed to be alive and four others are believed to have died.
Goldberg-Pollin, Levy and Cohen were abducted from the Nova music festival during a murderous rampage by Hamas, after its militants killed nearly 1,200 people and took nearly 250 hostage.
Hirsch's mother, Rachel Goldberg Pollen, was later told by witnesses that about 29 people had gathered in a shelter outside the festival before Hamas threw a grenade inside. Eight people survived, hiding under the bodies of the dead, while Goldberg Pollen was one of several hostages. An account from a young woman in the bunker said Goldberg-Pollen helped throw out some of the grenades before his left arm was blown off below the elbow.