ALBAWABA - On Friday, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, released a new video showing Israeli hostage Guy Dalal being driven through destroyed neighborhoods in Gaza City. This comes as tensions rise ahead of Israel's planned full-scale offensive.
Dalal, who said the video was shot on August 28, sent a strong message blaming the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for leaving the hostages behind. In the video "We Thought We Were Hamas's Hostages, But We Are Hostages of Our Own Government," Dalal said that Israel's leaders put politics ahead of the lives of soldiers and hostages.
He was very scared that Israel would soon invade Gaza City on the ground, and he warned that any attack would probably kill the remaining hostages, including himself and "eight of my friends." Dalal said that there were constant bombings, heavy gunfire, and drones flying over the area. He thinks that the army is getting closer to where the captives are being held.
The hostage said that life was very hard for him during his 22 months of captivity, and he said that food was scarce because of Israel's ongoing siege. He sarcastically criticized Netanyahu by saying, "Thank you for finally letting us have some bread, cheese, and noodles to stay alive while your son Yair enjoys barbecues in Miami."
Dalal said that high-ranking Israeli officials were lying to the public when they said they didn't want the hostages to come home. The video also shows him meeting another Israeli hostage near the International Red Cross headquarters in Gaza City, where they both say they can't believe what's happening to them.
In his appeal, Dalal asked former hostages to talk about what they went through and asked Israelis to protest and put pressure on the government to get them released and end the war. At the end of the video, Al-Qassam says, "Time is running out."
Meanwhile, Channel 14 in Israel said that the Israeli military is getting ready to start a big operation in Gaza City next week. It will start with heavy airstrikes and then move on to a ground invasion. People who live there should get orders to leave soon.
Israeli officials say that 48 hostages are still in Gaza, 20 of whom are thought to be alive. At the same time, Israel is still holding more than 11,100 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are being tortured, denied medical care, and dying in detention.
