Gaza Conflict: Islamic Jihad group shows new video featuring Israeli hostages

A video showing an elderly woman and a young child who were among the approximately 240 hostages taken by militant gunmen who attacked Israel on October 7 was released by the armed wing of the Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad in Gaza on Thursday. It stated that once the necessary requirements were satisfied, it was ready to release the two for humanitarian and medical reasons. It provided no other information. Israel didn’t respond right away. The Israeli military has stated that during an attack on southern Israeli communities that resulted in the deaths of about 1,400 Israelis and foreigners, Palestinian terrorists based in Gaza took the hostages. The vast majority are thought to be in the hands of Hamas, although Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant organisation affiliated with the ruling movement in Gaza, has claimed to have held at least thirty hostages in the past. The old woman, who was seated in a wheelchair, said in the video that she missed her kids. “Hopefully, I’ll get to see you the following week,” she stated. “We want everyone to be happy because we are happy and healthy.” The video represents the third film of hostages that Gaza militants have released. To date, they have liberated four prisoners, the last two of whom were two 85-year-old women who left for Israel on October 23. (With agency inputs)