Hamas Releases Disturbing Hostage Video: Fate of Israeli Woman and Others Unknown

Hamas hostages (l. to r.) Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi (Screenshot)

Hamas heightens psychological torment, sharing a distressing video of hostages, including Noa Argamani.

By Batya Jerenberg

In another attempt to play cruel mind games with the Israeli public and especially the hostages’ families, Hamas marked the 100th day that it has held some 136 hostages by releasing a video Sunday night of three of the victims its fighters kidnapped during its October 7, 2023 surprise invasion of Israel.

The trio, Noa Argamani (26), Yossi Sharabi (53) and Itay Svirsky (38) can be seen on the 37-second clip reciting their names and text that sounded dictated to them, including a demand that the Israeli government stop its war in the Gaza Strip and act for their immediate release. The three look unmarked, but as the clip is undated, there is no way of knowing when it was made and what their current condition is.

On the bottom of the video ran an ominous chyron by Hamas stating, “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”

As of this writing, no news has yet been heard from Hamas.

Israeli officials blasted this video, as they have with all previous hostage clips Hamas has publicized, as psychological warfare.

In this case, it was a twist of the knife, as earlier in the day, the terror organization’s spokesman Abu Obeida had said on television that “The fate of many of the enemy’s hostages and detainees has become unknown in recent weeks and the rest are all in the tunnel of the unknown due to the Zionist aggression. Most likely, many of them were killed recently, the rest are in great danger every hour and the enemy’s leadership and army bear full responsibility.”

Argamani’s mother, Leora, is a dual Chinese-Israeli citizen, and both she and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reached out to Beijing to use its influence to get her only child released. Leora is dying of cancer, and has begged from every stage possible that she be allowed to be reunited with her daughter before she passes away.

Argamani was kidnapped from the Nova musical festival, where Hamas murdered some 360 revelers and abducted dozens. The terrorists themselves recorded and uploaded the scene of her being driven away on a motorcycle, as she was screaming, “Don’t kill me!” She is one of 14 women still being held captive after a November deal saw 81 Israeli women and children released by Hamas in exchange for some 250 Palestinian security prisoners imprisoned in Israel who were also female and minors.

Hamas had previously freed four other women, two elderly Israelis and a mother and daughter who held dual American and Israeli citizenship.

Both Sharabi and Svirsky were hauled away from Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people in over 20 Israeli communities. Sharabi lived there, and was taken along with his brother, Eli, and his daughter’s boyfriend, Ofir Engel. Engel, 18, was released in the hostage deal.

Svirsky had been visiting his mother in the kibbutz when the terrorists burst into her home. Both his parents were murdered by the terrorists.