Palestinian Islamic Jihad releases hostage video

Gaza, Dec 20 (IANS) The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group has released a video in which two Israeli hostages are seen urging the Israeli government to engage in negotiations for their release.

The video was released on Tuesday by the group's armed wing, Quds Brigades and the capitves identify themselves as Gadi Moses (79) and Elad Katzir (47), who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.

The men appear separately in two clips.

It however, remains unclear when or where the clips were filmed.

In the video, Moses asks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, war cabinet member Benny Gantz and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to make every effort to return them to their families, reports CNN.

Katzir makes similar remarks, asking the government to make an exchange deal with the Islamic Jihad, proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and Australia.

Both men speak about the dangers they are facing.

“We do not want to die in Gaza. Our lives here are extremely dangerous. And we want everything necessary to be done, in order to bring us back home,” Katzir says.

Moses was taken alongside his former wife Margalit Moses, who was released during the truce on November 24.

Katzir’s father, Rami, was killed on October 7, and his mother, Hanna, was abducted and then released as part of the now-collapsed humanitarian truce.

On Monday, Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, released a video showing three Israeli male hostages in captivity in Gaza.

While Hamas is the biggest and most powerful armed group in Gaza, other Palestinian factions like the Quds Brigades participated in the October 7 attacks and took hostages from Israel.

According to Israeli authorities, about 129 people, including foreign nationals, remain captive in Gaza.

During the humanitarian pause (November 24-30), 86 Israeli and 24 foreign hostages were released.