Current:Home > FinanceNewly released video shows 3 hostages, including Israeli-American, being taken captive on Oct. 7 -Finovate
Newly released video shows 3 hostages, including Israeli-American, being taken captive on Oct. 7
View
Date:2025-04-16 05:58:51
The families of three men taken hostage by Hamas, including a well-known Israeli-American, have authorized the release of a video documenting the kidnapping near the Israel-Gaza border on Oct. 7.
Bring Them Home Now, a group that represents the hostages' families, shared the video on social media Monday after the Israeli army declassified it.
In the video, which is graphic and hard to watch, Palestinian militants are seen carting three hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, in the back of a white pickup truck that speeds through southern Israel back toward Gaza. Goldberg-Polin sits bloodied, his forearm a mangled stump. Hamas has since released a video of him in captivity with part of his left arm amputated.
Goldberg-Polin and the two other hostages in the video — Eliya Cohen, 26, and Or Levy, 33 — were at the Tribe of Nova music festival when Hamas launched its attack. All three men are still believed to be held by Hamas.
In a statement posted alongside the footage, Bring Them Home Now called for an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would allow hostages who are still alive to return home and allow those killed to have a proper burial. The statement echoed pleas from families of the hostages for the Israeli government to reach a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian group, as negotiations for a pause in Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip and the terms of the hostages' release continue to stall.
Most of the footage was taken by militants who stormed out of Gaza in an attack that killed roughly 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. The video begins with apparent security camera footage showing Palestinian militants, some in green army fatigues, approaching a shelter.
One militant shoots four times into the shelter's door as smoke wafts out. The video cuts to a clip filmed by a militant of Goldberg-Polin and another hostage being pushed into the bed of a truck. Some images are blurred to censor what the hostage families group said is especially sensitive material.
In the video, the militant holding the camera celebrates the capture and thanks and praises God. "Here are the dogs," he says, scanning to show the hostages.
Another militant pulls Goldberg-Polin's hair, and the person holding the camera says, "I want to take a selfie with you."
Goldberg-Polin is seen with a tourniquet tied around his arm. Witnesses have said he was wounded when attackers tossed grenades into the shelter where people had taken refuge. His mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, told The Associated Press on Monday that, "262 days in, a lot of people are thinking about these hostages as just this clump of people, not individuals. And we personally feel this is our son."
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh's mother, has been a vocal advocate for resolving the hostage situation since her son was taken on Oct. 7. She spoke to CBS News in April after Hersh appeared for the first time in a video released by Hamas, saying at the time that she had not heard his voice in six months.
"He's clearly medically compromised and medically fragile," she said.
In the video released Monday, Levy is seen lying in the back of the truck with Goldberg-Polin and Cohen. Levy attended the Nova festival with his wife Einav, who was killed by militants, according to the hostage families group. Levy's older brother, Michael Levy, said watching the new video was "horrific."
"On the most horrific day of his life, I wasn't able to do anything," Levy said. "I've never seen him so terrified in my life."
Cohen went to the festival with his girlfriend, who survived the attack under bodies in the shelter. In the video, a militant kneels on Cohen's bloody face, pressing it into the truck bed.
- In:
- Hostage Situation
- Hamas
- Israel
- Gaza Strip
veryGood! (626)
Related
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Best movies of 2023: ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Fallen Leaves,’ ‘May December’
- Pantone's Color of the Year for 2024 Is Just Peachy & So Are These Fashion, Beauty & Decor Finds
- ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ will feature Janelle Monáe, Green Day, Ludacris, Reneé Rapp and more in LA
- Small twin
- Allies of Russian opposition leader Navalny post billboards asking citizens to vote against Putin
- Sloppy Steelers’ playoff hopes take another hit with loss to Patriots
- UN to hold emergency meeting at Guyana’s request on Venezuelan claim to a vast oil-rich region
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Selena Gomez Appears to Confirm She’s Dating Benny Blanco
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Rhode Island lawmakers and advocates working to address soaring housing costs
- Is the US economy on track for a ‘soft landing’? Friday’s jobs report may offer clues
- Matthew McConaughey's Reacts to Heartwarming Tribute From 15-Year-Old Son Levi
- Bodycam footage shows high
- A Chinese military surveillance balloon is spotted in Taiwan Strait, island’s Defense Ministry says
- Virginia expects to wipe out pandemic unemployment backlog next summer
- 'Transitions' explores the process of a mother's acceptance of her child's gender
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Advocates say a Mexican startup is illegally selling a health drink from an endangered fish
That's not actually Dua Lipa's phone number: Singer is latest celeb to join Community
'Succession' star Alan Ruck sued for multi-car collision that ended in pizza shop crash
The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
Thousands of tons of dead sardines wash ashore in northern Japan
Nvidia CEO suggests Malaysia could be AI ‘manufacturing’ hub as Southeast Asia expands data centers
South Korea’s defense chief vows retaliatory strikes on ‘heart and head’ of North Korea if provoked