Video released by Israeli families shows several young soldiers bloodied and injured near the Gaza fence on October 7.
The families of five female Israeli soldiers believed to be alive and detained by Hamas in Gaza have released video footage showing them being captured on October 7.
The Israeli army had the body camera footage, only recently declassifying it and giving it to the women’s families – the reason behind the declassification is unclear.
It is unclear whether any of it has yet been redacted by the Israeli army.
The Forum for Hostages and Missing Families said the families released the images to try to pressure the government to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that would free their loved ones.
In a statement, Hamas said the video was “a manipulated excerpt” that “cannot be verified” and that its release at this time is “part of the occupation’s efforts to distort the image of the resistance.”
The group also said there was “obvious cropping and selection of images that would support the occupation’s claims… that female recruits had been assaulted.”
The injuries to the soldiers, the statement said, were minor and “expected in such situations.”
Chaos and confusion
The footage shows scenes of chaos with the young soldiers confused and scared.
Two women who did not speak Arabic could be seen asking if anyone spoke English, with their hands tied behind their backs.
The footage was of the attack on the Nahal Oz military base, part of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed 1,139 people and took about 250 others captive.
Seven female soldiers, who worked as guards on the border with Gaza, were evacuated from Nahal Oz, the Forum reported.
The army rescued one of the women in late October in a ground operation and said a second was killed during Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Each new testimony about what happened to the hostages echoes the same tragic truth – we must bring them all home, now,” the Forum said in a statement.
“The Israeli government must not waste another moment.”
The footage released on Wednesday is about three minutes long and has been edited, with some images blurred to censor what the Forum said was especially sensitive material.
In the video, a group of more than a dozen armed fighters are seen tying up the women, two of whom had visible bloodstains on their faces.
The video was released amid growing domestic pressure on the Israeli government to secure the release of the remaining captives.
Thousands of Israelis, including family members and other loved ones of those still detained in Gaza, have taken to the streets in recent days to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do more to free them.
Many also called on Israel to agree to a ceasefire to bring their families home safely.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
