The families of hostages held in Gaza have released footage showing Hamas kidnapping five female soldiers during its brutal attack on Israel on 7 October. The young women, some still wearing pyjamas, are seen huddled against a wall with bloodied faces and clothing as the gunmen scream at them. More than a dozen militants are seen binding their hands, with one shouting in English for them to be quiet.
One of the gunmen is heard telling them in Arabic, “You dogs, we will step on you ...
we will shoot you all”, while another tells one of the captives in English, “You’re beautiful.” Seven young female soldiers aged 19 and 20 were captured by Hamas gunmen from the Nahal Oz military base on the day of the massacre of 1,200 that sparked the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Strip . The soldiers were monitoring surveillance cameras of the Gaza border.
The Israeli army rescued one of the soldiers early in the war and said a second was killed in Hamas captivity. The five women in the video are believed to still be held by Hamas. Naama Levy, a 19-year-old who had been part of an Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative, is heard telling the militants in the video in English: “I have friends in Palestine.
” Israel’s army recently declassified the video and turned it over to the women’s relatives. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which released the video, said the families were publicising the footage in an effort to pressure their government into reaching a deal with Hama.