Islamic Jihad airs video of two hostages

The direct Iranian client terror group showcased Elad Katzir (47) and Gadi Mozes (79) saying their lives are on the line.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) aired a video Tuesday night of two hostages it is holding in the Gaza Strip, Elad Katzir (47) and Gadi Mozes (79), who beg for their freedom, saying their lives are on the line.

In the clip, the two men, both from Kibbutz Nir Oz, specifically ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and war cabinet member leader Benny Gantz of the National Unity Party to work for their release because of the huge danger they are in.

The elderly Mozes takes medications regularly, and it has been reported that he is not receiving them in captivity.

Israel has repeatedly demanded that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) fulfill its purpose and visit all the hostages to see their conditions and provide them with medical care. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with ICRC head Marijana Spoljaric and pointedly handed her a package of medications to deliver to specific abductees, to no avail.

This is the second time the direct Iranian client terror group has publicized that it had also abducted Israeli civilians on October 7, proving beyond doubt that its men, too, had participated in the Hamas-led invasion of Gazan envelope communities in which the terrorists massacred 1,200 people and forced some 240 back into the coastal enclave to be used as bargaining chips.

Previously, PIJ claimed that Katzir’s mother, Hannah, had died in their captivity of “medical complications.” This psychological torture turned out to be a lie, as Hannah was released in the first of seven groups of hostages freed during a brief truce last month that saw 81 Israelis freed in exchange for over 240 Palestinian security prisoners jailed in Israel.

Mozes’ first wife, Margalit, who had also been abducted when the terrorists overran their kibbutz on the border, was released at the same time. His second wife, Efrat Katz, was murdered by the invaders.

Some two dozen foreign nationals, mostly Thai agricultural workers, were also released, as part of a separate deal worked out between Bangkok and Tehran, Hamas’ primary financial backer.

Of the estimated 136 hostages left in Gaza, Israel has declared that 19 are dead, having used technological means and eyewitness testimony of those freed to come to that grim conclusion.

There have been reports of renewed negotiations between Qatar and Israel on the release of additional hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, perhaps even including senior terrorists.

Before the release of the video, Mozes’ son Yair had referred to the reports, saying that “Right now, we’re just hearing rumors. I very much hope that something will happen. We’ve heard from many of those returning [from Gaza] of very difficult conditions. My father is just about to turn 80, and is under the ground, it’s not normal. There has been no information about him since the day of the kidnapping and we know it’s not the Hilton.”

On Monday, Hamas aired a video of three elderly men they are still holding, Yoram Metzger, Chaim Peri and Amiram Cooper. The trio, also from Nir Oz, plead for their release, referring to their roles in building the state as well as their chronic illnesses. As part of the psychological pressure tactic, the terrorists played in the background the song “Do Not Throw Me Away In My Old Age,” a line also repeated by Peri in his statement.