Al-Qassam Brigades release video of Israeli hostages

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, released a video Monday featuring two Israeli hostages who warned that the renewed Israeli genocide on Gaza could result in their deaths.

Titled “Tell Them, Ohad,” the video shows the hostages discussing their mental, physical and security conditions. They called on fellow captives released in a prisoner swap to speak out about their suffering.

Prisoner number “21” said they “saw death” before their eyes as the Israeli genocidal war resumed in Gaza.

He warned that “these attacks will lead to our end.”

“We are the ones who asked and begged (the captors) to be heard,” he added.

The hostage also highlighted their suffering from a lack of food, water and medical supplies after Israel closed the crossings in early March.

“When the ceasefire deal began (in January) and the crossings were opened, Hamas fighters were keen and concerned to provide everything we needed and everything we asked for. Not just to feed us, but to make us feel well,” he added.

“Indeed, we began to feel that there was no more hunger and we began to breathe fresh air. We believed that this would end. Just as the end was approaching, we were dealt a severe blow” on March 18.

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing at least 730 people and injuring nearly 1,200 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold on Jan. 19.

Israel estimates that 59 Israeli hostages are currently being held in Gaza, 24 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 9,500 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, enduring torture, starvation and medical neglect, with many having died as a result, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations and media reports.

-Silencing voices

The second prisoner, number “22,” urged his fellow detainees released during the Jan. 19 ceasefire deal to speak out about their experiences.

He criticized Israel's attempts to silence them, saying “enough with this government silencing our voices. Enough, enough, enough. The prisoners who were with us before and now released -- give them a chance to speak and express their opinions.”

“Let them speak, let the truth come to light. Enough with the silencing, Israeli government. Enough, enough, enough. The released prisoners who were with us must go out and talk about our conditions. Let them speak.”

He also sent a message to a former Hamas hostage, Ohad, saying: “You were sitting with us. Speak for us. Explain to everyone what we have been going through.”

“You know how much suffering we are going through here. Explain to them how hard it is for me to stay here every day without my son and without my wife.”

Ohad was one of the prisoners released in the first phase of the swap deal.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,200 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.