Hamas released a new propaganda video this Saturday afternoon in which we see two hostages: Keith Siegel, American citizen, and Omri Miran. Like Hersh Golberg-Polin, the hostage who appeared in the last Hamas film on April 24, the two men plead in this highly scripted film for the demonstrations to bring down the Netanyahu government. They say they “have seen” the movements for the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and ask the protesters to “continue”: “Only under pressure, the government will conclude a deal with Hamas”, they plead, probably under the dictation.
In the video, the two men talk about the Passover holiday and express their hope of returning home before Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) which takes place on May 13. Omri Miran claims that he has been detained for 202 days, which means, according to this figure, that the recording would have been made last Thursday.
“The signs of life of Keith Segal and Omri Miran constitute the clearest proof that the Israeli government must do everything possible to reach an agreement allowing the return of all the hostages, even before Independence Day” , commented the Hostage Families Forum. “It’s about allowing the captives still alive to rebuild their lives, and those who were killed to be buried with dignity.”
133 hostages are still in Gaza, in the hands of Hamas and other terrorist organizations. Among them only 95 are “presumed alive”. But according to many analysts, this figure could be much lower. An agreement, now in the hands of Hamas, provides for the release of 33 female hostages, soldiers, elderly and sick people in a first phase, against, among other things, a freezing of the Israeli operation in Rafah.