Hamas released a propaganda video Monday showing Israeli hostages Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7 and remain captive in Gaza.
The video, described by Israel as psychological warfare, reveals Bohbot and Ohana in deteriorating health. Bohbot’s family noted his extreme weight loss, skin issues, and breathing problems due to asthma. “He hasn’t seen daylight for nearly a year and a half,” they said, urging Israeli and U.S. leaders to take action.
In the footage, the hostages implore the Israeli government to allow freed captives to reveal the dire conditions in Hamas captivity. Bohbot directly calls on recently released hostage Ohad Ben-Ami, asking, “Ohad, why don’t you tell them? You were with us.”
Ohana warned that renewed fighting in Gaza puts the remaining hostages at risk, recalling severe food shortages before the last ceasefire. “We felt neither dead nor alive,” he said.
Both Bohbot and Ohana were slated for release in a second phase of a January ceasefire deal that ultimately collapsed. Israel believes 24 hostages, including 22 Israelis, are still alive in Gaza, while 35 confirmed dead remain held by Hamas.
Ben-Ami, responding to the video, vowed to fight for their return, saying, “They fear for their lives and are losing hope. I will do everything in my power to bring them home.”
