Netanyahu slams ‘cruel’ Hamas hostage vid showing three female Israeli captives being forced to call for ceasefire
BINYAMIN Netanyahu has slammed Hamas after they released a disturbing video with three Israeli hostages.
The women, seen under duress, were forced to slam the Israeli government and called for an urgent ceasefire.
Speaking in Hebrew, the trio also revealed they have been in captivity for 23 days.
The twisted video description provided by Hamas read: "A number of Zionist prisoners held by Al-Qassam send a message to Netanyahu and the Zionist government."
Netanyahu has condemned the video as "cruel psychological propaganda".
"We are doing everything to bring all the kidnapped and missing people home," the Prime Minister wrote on X.
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Hundreds were killed and dozens taken hostage when Hamas gunmen burst across the border on paragliders and motorbikes on October 7.
Hamas - known for its psychological warfare tactics - released the video on its social networks, which was disseminated rapidly by foreign and Israeli media.
It is unclear who the women are and if they are speaking freely.
The sickening footage comes not long after the family of kidnapped Shani Louk announced her death.
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The German tattoo artist was last seen in harrowing footage of Hamas terrorists parading her body on the back of a pickup truck on October 7, 2023.
Now, Israel claims that Shani was tortured and beheaded by Hamas monsters after a skull fragment revealed the "unfathomable horrors" done to her.
The family of the young German-Israeli woman had been desperately holding onto hope that Shani was alive and would one day be returned to them.
However, after three horrifying weeks of silence, Shani's mother Ricarda Louk announced that her much-loved daughter was dead.
"Unfortunately, we received news yesterday that my daughter is no longer alive," the heartbroken mother told German media today.
Shani's sister, Adi, also described on Instagram the "great sorrow" her family are feeling following the news.
Israel might now be forced to make heartbreaking calls to families of hostages if Hamas snubs a prisoner swap deal, a terror adviser has warned.
The terrorist group claims to have up to 250 captives in Gaza and issued a chilling threat to execute one civilian for each Israeli airstrike unleashed without warning.
It's feared many of the hostages - both Israeli and non-Israeli citizens - are being held in Hamas' mysterious 311-mile maze of tunnels underground.
Earlier this month, a top Hamas leader had hinted they may attempt to use those it abducted as bargaining chips to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas' diaspora office, said the group "has what it needs" to free 6,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails.
Friends and family of those kidnapped have been protesting and demanding a "prisoner deal now".
Yigal Carmon, a counter-terrorism expert and former counter-terrorism advisor to Israeli prime ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin, said a prisoner exchange is "absolutely necessary".
He told The Sun: "Hamas wants all their Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
"We should say 'yes' and give them everybody, to the last prisoner.
"We do not need them. This is our bargaining: let the Palestinian prisoners go to Gaza, Jordan, to Egypt, to Turkey, to anywhere.
"We must not do negotiations on the back of our Israeli hostages, women, children. We must do the prisoner exchange.
"We want our loved ones back. Once we do that the families will understand that we are giving everything. And the people will know we are doing it, and the world will know that."
But Mr Carmon warned Israeli authorities will have to make agonising calls to worried families if negotiations fail and a prisoner swap is not rubber-stamped.
He added: "And if they refuse the prisoners exchange, we may call the families and ask them: 'What are we to do? They are not giving you back your loved ones'.
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"And we erase Hamas from the face of the Earth. But not without an offer to exchange all prisoners for all prisoners."
