Days after rejecting an Israeli ceasefire proposal, the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas has released another hostage video — this time of 35-year-old Elkana Bohbot, who has endured 561 days of horrific captivity.
The Islamic terrorist group deliberately timed the propaganda video to coincide with the Passover festivities and the Jewish Shabbat.
The terrorist group, on Saturday, also repeated the claim that it was ‘unaware’ of the whereabouts of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier who was kidnapped while he was on an IDF post guarding the southern Israeli community of Kibbutz Nirim.
“After rejecting Israel’s latest hostage deal, terror group releases new footage of Elkana Bohbot, just days following a similar clip of Rom Braslavski posted as part of growing pressure on Israel,” the Israeli news website YNET reported.
The latest round of propaganda videos is aimed at demoralizing the Israeli public and pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end the counter-terrorism operation in Gaza and allow Hamas to continue ruling the terror-infested enclave. Since October 7, 2023, Hamas has been releasing such depraved hostage videos in a bid to torment the families of the captives and force Israel to submit to its demands.
“Saturday’s footage is the latest in a series of weekly videos published by Hamas in recent weeks, part of what analysts see as a strategy to pressure the Israeli government into reaching a deal,” the news website noted.
The Israeli media outlets are yet to air the latest hostage video. “The Hostage Families Forum has asked that Israeli media not publish the video or stills from the clip until [Elkana Bohbot’s] family approves them,” The Times of Israel noted Saturday.
Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups still hold 59 hostages, of whom 24 are thought to be alive, while 35 are feared to have been murdered since October 7, 2023.
With most Israelis observing the Passover weekend, Hamas claimed that it was unaware of the whereabouts of U.S.-Israeli dual national Edan Alexander. Edan, a native of Teaneck, New Jersey, is the last living American hostage in Hamas captivity.
“Hamas’s armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
“Hamas on Thursday publicly rejected an Israeli proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” The Times of Israel reported Friday. “A Hamas source told AFP that the terrorist organization also sent a written response Thursday to mediators on Israel’s latest proposal for a 45-day ceasefire.”
Hamas “formally rejects Israeli ceasefire offer,” the BBC reported:
In a video statement, Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said: “We will not accept partial deals that serve [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s political agenda.”
Hamas officials had already indicated to the BBC earlier in the week that they would reject the plan.
“Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners [hostages],” Hayya said.
With Hamas refusing to negotiate the release of the remaining hostages, the Israeli armed forces continue the ground operation, hitting terrorists and Hamas infrastructure across Gaza.
The Jerusalem Post reported the details of the latest Israeli airstrike on Gaza terror targets:
The Israel Air Force (IAF) struck some 40 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip in the past day, the military said on Friday.
Among the targets were terrorists, military structures and weapons storage facilities, the IDF added.
In parallel, troops destroyed terror infrastructure and killed terrorists in Shabura and Tel Sultan in Rafah situated in the southern Gaza Strip.
In northern Gaza, troops identified terrorists via an IAF aircraft who were subsequently attacked. In addition, the soldiers demolished weapons caches located on the area.
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