Liri Albag was one of the female lookout soldiers who was taken hostage in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
A newly released Hamas propaganda video shows signs that Israeli hostage Liri Albag, 19, may be alive.
Albag was one of the female lookout soldiers who was taken hostage in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023.
In the video, Albag says has been in captivity for 450 days, adding, “I’m only 19, with my whole life ahead of me, but right now it feels like everything has come to a standstill.”
“We’re entering a really dark year,” she said, her voice trembling with tears. “The world is beginning to forget us. No one cares. We’re trapped in a nightmare.”
Hamas releases these videos for the purposes of psychological warfare, often forcing hostages to make statements against Israel’s government. As a result, many media outlets refuse to publish the entire videos.
Albag then criticized the Israeli government and said, “If someone from your family were here, would they still be here today?”
She continued, “This is not normal, what you’re making us endure. Do you have any idea what it’s like to live in a place constantly under bombardment, with no shelter?”
“I just want people to remember me, to remember my name,” she concluded in the video. “All of this is because of the government and the army.”
The Albag family released a statement in response to the video, “Today’s video has shattered our hearts,” the family said. “This is not the daughter and sister we know. She is not well—her immense psychological distress is clear. We watched our brave Liri, struggling to survive and pleading for her life. She’s only a few dozen kilometers away, yet for 456 days, we’ve been unable to bring her home.”
They continued, “We call on the prime minister, world leaders, and all decision-makers: It’s time to make decisions as if your own children were in their place! Liri is alive, and she must return alive! The responsibility is yours alone. Don’t let this opportunity slip by—bring them all back.”