A harrowing video of female Israeli captives has sparked widespread outcry in Israel, forcing Netanyahu to reopen the possibility of ceasefire negotiations.
In Israel, the Bring Them Home campaign released a harrowing video on Thursday depicting five female Israeli soldiers taken captive on October 7. The video, resulting in a huge public outcry, has pushed Prime Minister Netanyahu into reopening the possibility of hostage negotiations.
The footage shows five bloodied young women wearing pajamas, looking stunned and terrified as they are tied up and bundled into a vehicle.
“I have friends in Palestine,” one of the conscripts, 19-year-old Naama Levy, pleads in English.
One of the gunmen can be heard shouting back in Arabic, “You are dogs! We will step on you, dogs!”
Another gunman tells a captive, “You’re beautiful.”
The video was the main topic of discussion on Israeli talk shows and in newspapers this morning.
Within hours of seeing the video, Netanyahu convened the security cabinet and authorized an effort to renew the talks, an Israeli official said.
According to Haaretz, Finance Minister Smotrich, a right-wing extremist who has criticized a potential hostage deal, refused to watch the video because he wanted to go on sleeping at night.
It was not immediately clear when or on what terms new negotiations might take place.
