Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was "shocked" by the latest Hamas videos of hostages in the Gaza Strip, and spoke with their families as the country is horrified by the footage, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Since Thursday, the terrorist organization "Hamas" and its ally - the group "Islamic Jihad" - have released three videos showing two exhausted Israeli hostages. This has led to renewed debate in Israel about the need to reach an agreement to release them as soon as possible.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv last night to protest demanding the release of the hostages.
"The prime minister expressed deep concern about the recordings released by Hamas and told the families that efforts to return all our hostages are continuing," his office said.
In propaganda footage from the two Islamist groups, the two hostages appeared very exhausted and emaciated. The staging was intended to draw a parallel with the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is threatened by "mass starvation" according to the UN. Particularly shocking was a series of footage showing one of the hostages, shovel in hand, digging the sandy soil in the narrow tunnel in which he was being held, as if he were digging his own grave, AFP noted.
Netanyahu "held a long conversation this evening with the families of the hostages Rom Brelevsky and Avitar David," who were shown in the latest videos. "The cruelty of "Hamas" knows no bounds," he commented, condemning the "cynical and disgusting" staging. He again accused "Hamas" of "just as deliberately starving the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip by preventing them from receiving aid."