JERUSALEM – Israeli television aired previously withheld footage on Wednesday, May 22, of five pyjama-clad female army conscripts being seized by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 raid that triggered the Gaza war . The captives’ families hoped the footage would increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a truce with Hamas and secure the hostages’ release. The Netanyahu government saw the release of the subtitled three-minute clip to national and international media as an opportunity to shore up support.
Hamas defended its fighters’ conduct and called the video a bid to manipulate public opinion. “These girls are still in the captivity of Hamas. Please don’t look away,” Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters.
“Watch the film. Support Israel in bringing our people home.” The footage shows the young women, all of them stunned and some bloodied, being bound and bundled into a jeep.
“I have friends in Palestine,” one of the conscripts, 19-year-old Naama Levy, pleads in English. One of the gunmen can be heard shouting back in Arabic: “You are dogs! We will step on you, dogs!” Another gunman tells a captive: “You’re beautiful.” The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of the 124 people – mostly civilians – still held by Hamas, said in a statement that the footage was recovered from bodycams worn by gunmen who attacked the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel where the women served as surveill.
