Israeli captive poses direct challenge to Netanyahu regime: ‘How many of us do you want dead?’
An Israeli captive held by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip delivers a harrowing message addressed to the Israeli prime minister concerning the captives’ insufferable fear of getting killed during relentless Israeli attacks against the coastal sliver.
The footage, released on Saturday by Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, showed captives Yosef-Haim Ohana and Elkana Bohbot, who have been held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The day saw the Palestinian territory’s resistance fighters ensnare 251 Zionists during a historic operation staged in response to the regime’s decades-old barbaric occupation of Palestinian territories and aggression towards Palestinians.
The video saw Ohana directly challenge Netanyahu’s regime and its hell-bent insistence on carrying on with a genocidal war that it launched against Gaza after the operation under the pretext of enabling release of the captives. The war has so far claimed the lives of around 52,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides killing scores of the captives during indiscriminate and no-holds-barred attacks.
The regime, though, still seeks to obstinately keep up the brutal military onslaught, claiming it would not cease the aggression until Hamas’ elimination — a goal described as unattainable by some Israeli officials and Tel Aviv’s own allies.
Netanyahu has been directly condemned by Israeli officials for deliberately sabotaging realization of a ceasefire agreement as an attempt at prolonging the war and deflecting attention from his legal woes. Tel Aviv has already destroyed one such deal by resuming its genocide against Gaza.
In the footage, Ohana is seen seated beside a visibly unwell Bohbot, who lies under a blanket.
The former identifies himself as “prisoner number 21” and Bohbot as “prisoner number 22,” emphasizing the deteriorating physical and psychological state of his fellow captive.
‘Israeli captive prone to self-harm, endangering others’
Ohana recounts Bohbot’s repeated self-harm attempts and refusal to eat or drink, stating, “Our lives are in imminent danger. Every minute here is critical.”
His appeal extended beyond their immediate plight, denouncing those Israeli pilots, who continued airstrikes against Gaza, potentially endangering remaining captives’ lives, after some pilots refused to fly and petitioned the regime to end the war.
‘Appealing to Israeli war pilots’ conscience’
He commended those who had refused to fly, saying, “To our fellow pilots, I am so proud of you. Because you decided not to fly and jeopardize our lives, and signed the petitions.”
“But those pilots that are still flying, bombing us and the civilians… What do you say to your families? What?” the captive added.
The captives’ families have, meanwhile, been expressing growing frustration over inconsistent information regarding the number of the captives, who still remained alive.
Ruhama Bohbot, Elkana’s mother, has voiced her anguish over the lack of official communication, stating that conflicting reports had left families confused and distraught.
Netanyahu recently said at least 21 captives were still alive, with the status of three others remaining uncertain.
Ohana said the Netanyahu regime’ s insistence on sustaining the war had prompted him to think whether it sought to prolong the onslaught as much as possible until a certain number of captives remained alive and were brought back to the occupied territories.
“If you want to know their (the living captives’) number, simply ask Sara Netanyahu. It seems she knows what you don’t,” he said.
“And you Sara, simply tell us what is the number that you want so we can go home. How many should die? Do you want it to be less than 20 or more than 20? Tell us!”
Ohana finally reasserted that the regime had to terminate the bloodletting immediately.
“Why is this continuing? Why hasn’t it stopped? Tell me, have you gone crazy? One year and seven months… What should have happened and still didn’t happen? What should have been done and still hasn’t been done?”
