Hamas released a video of two hostages kidnapped last October 7 from Israel

The edited video is approximately three minutes long. In it, the two men introduced themselves and said they were hoping for a deal to release the hostages so they could return home. It is not entirely clear when the footage was taken. However, Miran said he spent 202 days in captivity and Siegel mentioned the Jewish holiday of Passover, suggesting the video was filmed recently.

Siegel was kidnapped on October 7, along with his wife Aviva, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Aviva was released in November as part of a hostage exchange for Palestinians held in Israel. Miran was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October attack.

Hamas has repeatedly released footage of hostages in the past, which Israel described as psychological warfare. Most Israeli media do not publish these videos, labeling them as Hamas propaganda.

The families of the hostages said after the release of the video, according to ToI, that the Israeli government had a choice between the hostages and war. “Israel must choose: hostages or war. The raid on Rafah will bring more murdered hostages in captivity or their deaths in the war. The raid on Rafah will mean another way for the abductees to die. Israel must choose to return the hostages,” the families said in a statement.

Rafah is located in the south of the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt, and more than a million Palestinians from other parts of the Strip have taken refuge there from the fighting. The Israeli government says Rafah is home to the remaining Hamas battalions, and the Israeli military has stepped up preparations for a ground operation in the city in recent weeks. The international community is urging the Israeli government to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians beforehand.

Fighting in the Gaza Strip began after the October 7 terrorist attacks, when Hamas and its allies attacked Israeli territory in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli authorities, 1,200 people died in the attack and another 250 were smuggled into the Palestinian territories. In the first and so far only ceasefire at the end of November, less than half of the hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Since the start of the war, 34,388 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry.