Hamas’s armed wing released a video on Saturday showing two Israeli hostages alive in Gaza, AFP reported.
In the footage, the captives, Maxim Herkin and Bar Kuperstein, spoke directly to the camera, recounting how they survived an Israeli airstrike.
The video surfaced a day after Israeli forces launched a ground offensive in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City, part of Israel’s efforts to expand its security zone within Palestinian territory.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli campaign group, confirmed the identity of one of the hostages, Herkin, whose family recognized him in the video.
Israeli media later identified the second captive as Kuperstein, an Israeli soldier. Herkin’s family requested that the media refrain from publishing the video.
The two men were abducted by Palestinian militants during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which marked the beginning of the Gaza war.
Both hostages had been at the Nova music festival when they were captured. Kuperstein, who was 21 at the time, was trying to help festival-goers when he was taken.
Herkin, a 35-year-old father, had emigrated from Ukraine and had sent a message to his mother before his abduction, reassuring her that he would be returning home soon.
In the video, Herkin appeared with his right cheek and hand bandaged and speaks under visible duress.
AFP was unable to verify the authenticity of the footage or when it was filmed.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, released the over two-minute clip.
The latest video was released a day after Israeli forces launched a ground offensive in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City “in order to expand the security zone” inside the Palestinian territory.
As of now, 58 hostages remain held in Gaza, with 34 of them confirmed dead, according to the Israeli military.
Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s military response has killed at least 50,669 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.