Palestinian Islamic Jihad Says Willing to Release 2 Israeli Hostages
i24 News — The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group released a psychological warfare hostage video on Thursday of two Israelis being held in Gaza.
The group said in a separate statement that they are willing to release the pair, Hanna Katzir, 77, and Yagil Yaakov, 12, both of Kibbutz Nir Oz, for “humanitarian reasons.”
The Yaakov family and the Katzir family requested that at this time, media outlets do not broadcast the video published by Hamas.
In the video, both of the hostages criticize Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, and the actions of the Israeli government, while praising Islamic Jihad and the treatment they have received in Gaza.
Both of these hostages have complicated medical situations — Hanna’s family previously released a statement saying that they are “very concerned about Hanna, a former kibbutz nanny who uses a walker, since she takes medications and requires constant medical attention.”
Additionally, the young boy, Yagil, has a life threatening peanut allergy. The Israeli Association of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has previously sent an urgent call to international allergy organizations insisting that the boy be seen and examined by representatives of the Red Cross, and be provided with injectable epinephrine.
Gaza-based Palestinian terrorists seized over 240 hostages during an assault on southern Israeli communities that killed some 1,400 people last month.
The vast majority are believed to be in the hands of Hamas, which rules Gaza, but Islamic Jihad, a smaller and allied terrorist group in the Palestinian enclave, has said previously it held at least 30 captives.
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