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Harrowing footage released showing kidnap of five female IDF soldiers on 7th October
Note to reader: We wanted to give you a trigger warning on what you may read below.
Footage of the abduction of Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Agam Berger, Karina Ariev and Daniella Gilboa by Hamas terrorists on 7th October was published this week showing the female IDF soldiers distressed and bloodied, in a video taken from body cameras worn by the terrorists.
The footage was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum with the permission of the families of the five hostages in order to raise awareness of their suffering. The three-minute video has been edited to remove the most disturbing images, including the bodies of murdered soldiers. It can be watched in full here.
The young women, who monitored activity at the Gaza border in their role as observers, are shown sitting on the floor with their hands tied. One of the terrorists says that they are the “women who can get pregnant” – also translated as “female captive”, a term used by ISIS terrorist to refer to sex slaves. They are told: “You dogs – we will step on you… Our brothers died because of you. We will shoot you all”. A terrorist says: “These are the Zionists”, while another says: “You are so beautiful”. 19-year-old Naama Levy, who was involved in a peacebuilding initiative, tells a terrorist: “I have friends in Palestine”.
Eli Albag, Liri’s father, said that the families “went back and forth over and over about whether to release” the video. He added that “three of the mothers have not seen the footage, are not prepared to see the footage, cannot bear to see the girls [in the footage]”.
“It’s been 229 days since then… and we are living it minute by minute”, he said. “I have no words to describe the horrors: At that base, 54 male and female soldiers were murdered. Those girls sat for two hours with 11 bodies of female soldiers and one male soldier in their line of sight”.
Seven female observers were kidnapped from the IDF’s Nahal Oz base on 7th October. Ori Megidish was rescued by the IDF in October and Noa Marciano was killed by Hamas during her captivity in Gaza.
After the footage was released, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said: “The world must look at this cruel atrocity. Those who care about women’s rights must speak out. All those who believe in freedom must speak out, and do everything possible to bring all of the hostages home now”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that he was “horrified” by the footage. “The cruelty of the Hamas terrorists only strengthens my determination to fight with all my might until Hamas is eliminated in order to ensure that what we saw this evening doesn’t happen ever again”, he said.
The IDF released two interrogation videos this week that show two Hamas terrorists, a father and son, confessing to murdering, kidnapping, and raping Israeli women in Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7th October. The IDF said that “countless evidence of the brutal violence used by Hamas on October 7, including harrowing acts of gender-based and sexual violence” has been seen since the attack. The videos can be watched here.
Israel’s War Cabinet has approved the resumption of negotiations with Hamas, with new guidelines given to the negotiating team to try and secure the release of the hostages. War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz has called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading to the 7th October attacks, challenging Prime Minister Netanyahu who says the inquiry cannot be formed until the war is over.
Senior Conservatives denounce Labour statement supporting ICC decision to seek arrest warrant for Israeli leaders
Senior Conservatives have expressed concern over Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s statement supporting the ICC’s decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.
Mr Lammy said that “democracies who believe in the rule of law must submit themselves to it”, in response to Monday’s announcement by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that he had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant as well as Hamas leaders.
In a highly controversial move, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan KC accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant of crimes against humanity, including “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, [and] deliberately targeting civilians in conflict”. The ICC prosecutor accused Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh of causing extermination, murder, taking hostages, rape and other act of sexual violence, and torture.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron described Labour as the “odd man out” after Mr Lammy’s comments, noting that Germany, the U.S., Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic had all joined the UK in condemning the ICC’s move. “The Germans have said that simultaneous applications for arrest warrants gives the false impression of an equation”, he said. “The Americans have called it ‘outrageous’, the Italians have called it ‘totally unacceptable’, the Austrians have said ‘the fact the leader of a terrorist organisation, Hamas, whose declared goal is the extinction of the state of Israel is being mentioned at the same time as the democratically-elected representatives of that very state is non-comprehensible’”. The Foreign Secretary continued: “The Czechs have said it is ‘appalling and completely unacceptable’… The odd man out, in many ways, is the [Labour Party], which seems to be saying that it supports the ICC in every way”.
CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman in the House of Commons, Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP, said the Labour statement was “deeply troubling” and “risks a schism with our closest allies”.
He said: “The UK and its international partners have been absolutely right to condemn the ICC’s controversial move. The Labour Party’s decision to support the ICC in drawing moral equivalence between the democratic state of Israel and a vile proscribed terror group is not only deeply troubling but also risks a schism with our closest allies”.
This week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the “deeply unhelpful” ICC decision and rejected the implication of moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas.
“There is no moral equivalence between a democratic state exercising its lawful right to self-defence and the terrorist group Hamas. It is wrong to conflate and equivocate between those two different entities”, the Prime Minister said. Prime Minister Sunak emphasised that this “will make absolutely no difference in getting a pause in the fighting, getting aid into the region, or indeed the hostages out”.
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the ICC decision to equate Israel with Hamas is “nonsensical”, stating: “Hamas is a terrorist organisation bent on slaughter. Israel is a state, and like all states an imperfect one, but trying to defend its people. Equating the two is just nonsensical”. He added: “There’s a particular narrative that some are seeking to run at the moment which is intended to hold Israel to higher standards than anyone else – double standards – and to de-legitimise Israel for a host of reasons”.
Bodies of three hostages killed on 7th October recovered from Gaza
The IDF has recovered the bodies of three hostages killed on 7th October from the Gaza Strip, after receiving intelligence reports of their location.
Orión Hernández Radoux, 30, Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59, were previously believed to have been abducted alive.
Orión, a French-Mexican tourist, was the boyfriend of Shani Louk, another hostage whose body was found in Gaza last week alongside three other bodies. They were at the Supernova music festival before fleeing to the Mefalsim area where they were kidnapped.
Hanan Yablonka had also been at the music festival, while Michel Nisenbaum was kidnapped while on his way to pick up his four-year-old granddaughter near Re’im.
Hanan was a “devoted and loving father” to his two children, aged 9 and 12, while Radoux had a young daughter. Nisenbaum, from Sderot, moved to Israel in 1988 from Brazil. He had two daughters and six grandchildren.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that their return “is another heartbreak for the 125 families of the hostages, who share the pain, sorrow, and endless worry. Their return for burial provides important closure for the family members, and efforts must be made to bring all the murdered hostages back to Israel”.
It is believed that 121 hostages remain in Gaza, kidnapped by Hamas on 7th October and held for 231 days.
Humanitarian aid from U.S.-built pier looted by Gazans
The distribution of humanitarian aid for Gazans from a U.S.-built pier has been disrupted after looters stopped some trucks carrying aid on their way to a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse. A WFP spokesperson said deliveries had been suspended while new routes were being planned to avoid crowds.
The news follows the WFP’s decision in February to temporarily stop aid deliveries after multiple trucks were looted and a delivery driver assaulted.
The newly completed pier facilitates the distribution of aid shipped from Larnaca in Cyprus, where it is first inspected by Israel. According to U.S. officials, the pier will initially process 90 trucks a day, up to a maximum of 150 trucks.
The U.S.-constructed pier cost $320 million to build, with 1,000 U.S. servicepeople involved in its construction. Three service personnel have suffered non-combat injuries during the assembly of the structure, with one individual reportedly in critical condition after being airlifted to a hospital in Israel.
Challenges in the distribution of humanitarian aid have been widespread during the Israel-Hamas war, with Hamas seizing aid for its own uses or reselling it at high prices. The U.S. confirmed that Hamas had hijacked a major shipment of humanitarian aid delivered through the newly reopened Erez Crossing in April, though the goods were reportedly later recovered by the UN.
An advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly said that “every aid vehicle is captured by Hamas and sold to people at a price 100 times higher. Every vehicle that brings goods is bought by them in exchange for some profit, and then they sell it at a price 200 times higher”.
Civilian eyewitnesses in Gaza have confirmed that Hamas steals the humanitarian aid intended for residents. One Palestinian woman said on camera: “We can’t take from the aid packages. They [Hamas] distribute them to certain people. I have sick people with me. I’m sick, my son has diabetes, my husband is sick…” Another woman adds: “They [Hamas] distribute the vegetables to certain people and not to others. There are people who every night have vegetables arrive for them to the tent. We see it, but we can’t speak because whoever speaks gets beaten”. A Gazan man said: “They [Hamas] are selling the tents. Aid arrives and they sell it. A box of halva that arrived as aid is sold for 40 [Israeli] shekels… Baby formula, oil, milk, everything, everything. The aid arrives, but I swear by Allah that the people doesn’t get any of it”.
Hamas has reportedly earned at least $500 million from the sale of stolen aid since 7th October.
Israel recalls ambassadors after Ireland, Norway and Spain recognise Palestinian state
Israel has recalled its ambassadors to Ireland, Norway and Spain and summoned their envoys after the countries announced they will recognise a Palestinian state from 28th May.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that they were rewarding Hamas for carrying out the 7th October attack. He said: “Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: terrorism pays”. “After the Hamas terror organisation carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing heinous sexual crimes witnessed by the world, these countries chose to reward Hamas and Iran by recognizing a Palestinian state”, he added.
“This distorted step by these countries is an injustice to the memory of the victims of 7/10, a blow to efforts to return the 128 hostages, and a boost to Hamas and Iran’s jihadists, which undermines the chance for peace and questions Israel’s right to self-defence”, the Foreign Minister continued.
The envoys were reportedly asked to view the video published this week of five young women being abducted by Hamas from the Nahal Oz base on 7th October, after being summoned to a meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday.
Palestinian leaders welcomed the coordinated announcements, with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) calling it a “historic moment” and Hamas saying the “brave resistance” of the Palestinian people supported the move.
