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Release of the video of Carmel Gat, 40, and Alexander Lobanov, 32, appears designed to inflame divisions in Israel. In the past Hamas had denied taking hostages.
Sept. 4, 2024, 4:52 p.m. ET
Hamas on Wednesday released a video of two hostages, recorded before their deaths, whose bodies were among those recovered earlier this week by the Israeli military from a tunnel in the Gaza Strip.
The video released on Wednesday included footage of Carmel Gat, 40, and Alexander Lobanov, 32. Hamas had released videos of two other hostages, on Monday and another on Tuesday. The release Wednesday ensures that the fate of the captives remains in the public eye.
All four were among six slain hostages who, according to autopsy reports released by the Israeli Ministry of Health, were shot at close range sometime between Thursday and Friday morning.
More than 60 living hostages, and the bodies of about 35 others taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, are still in Gaza, according to the Israeli authorities. The publication of the video comes as international negotiators are trying to bring Israel and Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, to an agreement that would result in a cease-fire.
The status of the hostages and the government’s decision to press on with the war has rived Israeli society. Many people say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pursued the war at the expense of the hostages; he says that pursuing the war is the way to free the hostages.
In the days since the six bodies were discovered, many Israelis have taken to the streets to protest the war. The protesters blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s for failing to reach a cease-fire agreement that would return the hostages to Israel. The release of the videos by Hamas, which in the past denied taking hostages, appears to be designed to inflame those tensions inside Israel.
