Hamas releases new video of Israeli hostage in Gaza

Hamas on Saturday released a new video showing Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot pleading for his release, marking the second such footage shared by the group in recent days.

Bohbot, who was abducted from the Nova music festival during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, appears in the three-minute video speaking in Hebrew, repeatedly raising his hands in desperation.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified him and called for urgent action to bring him home. AFP has not independently verified when or where the video was recorded.

Hostages at risk amid renewed fighting

This latest footage follows a previous video released Monday by Hamas’s Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, which featured Bohbot alongside another hostage, Yosef Haim Ohana.

In that clip, the captives described the dangers they faced after Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on March 18, following a two-month ceasefire.

In Saturday’s video, Bohbot again warns that the ongoing bombardment could cost him his life, pleading to be reunited with his wife and son.

Hamas has repeatedly claimed that Israeli military operations endanger the remaining hostages.

Stalled ceasefire talks and hostage crisis

Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 whom the Israeli military believes are dead.

Israel’s renewed offensive followed weeks of stalled negotiations to extend the ceasefire that had been in place since January 19. With hostilities escalating, efforts to secure the release of remaining captives face growing uncertainty.