Hamas releases video of French-Israeli hostage, first sign of life from Gaza
Israeli hostage Maya Sham in the video released by Hamas on October 16, 2023. Courtesy of Haaretz
This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Hamas has released the first sign-of-life video from one of the dozens of Israelis taken hostage on October 7th during the Palestinian group’s assault on communities surrounding the Gaza border.
Maya Sham, a 21-year-old dual French-Israeli national, was snatched by Hamas during its assault on Israeli communities adjacent to the border with Gaza. Her family only found out that she had been taken hostage a few days ago. It is not clear when the video was taken.
On Monday, before publication of the video, Sham’s family met with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. A representative of the family, which was among a group of French families that appealed last week to President Emmanuel Macron to help free their missing relatives, confirmed her identity .
“I am is Maya Sham, I’m twenty-one years old from Shoham,” she says in the video. “Right now, I’m in Gaza. I came back early on Saturday morning from a party in Sderot. I was seriously injured in the arm. They brought me to Gaza, and they took me to the hospital here. They’ve been taking care of me, providing medication. I’m just asking that you bring me back home as soon as possible to my family, my parents, my siblings. Please get me out of here as quickly as possible.”
חמאס שחרר סרטון של חטופה ישראלית.
— Fadi Amun | فادي أمون | פאדי אמון (@FadiAmun) October 16, 2023
- פרסום לאחר אישור המשפחה. pic.twitter.com/YJlMWeapzT
Following the video’s release, Sham’s family conveyed that they were “very happy.”
The video was released on Hamas’ Telegram channel shortly after Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, issued a statement saying that that the group is holding approximately 200 Israeli captives, with dozens being held by different factions.
Abu Obeida also claimed that the captives are treated with dignity and respect, adding that 22 of the captives were killed in airstrikes by the Israeli air force in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military issued a statement, saying it was in constant touch with Sham’s family and condemning Hamas as a “murderous terrorist organization.” It said it was using “all intelligence and operational measures” for the return of the captives.
“In the video, Hamas is trying to portray itself as a humane organization, while it is a responsible for the murder and abduction of babies, women, children, and elderly,” it said.
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