A video released by Hamas shows an Israeli woman and two children released after they were detained by Hamas resistance fighters.
The footage showed a woman holding a child’s hand, with a fighter holding the other child, and then letting all three go at a point appearing to be near the Gaza border.
The woman, identified as Avital Aladjem, a resident of kibbutz Holit, later gave an interview to an Israeli news outlet where she described having been taken hostage and then released, along with the two children.
In the interview, she stated, “The resistance fighters provided me with clothes to cover myself, and on my way back from where I was arrested, a Qassam fighter was carrying one of my children on his shoulder, and I was carrying the other”.
Around 150 people were taken hostage by Hamas during Saturday’s assault, according to Israeli officials. According to a video analysis by the Washington Post, 64 people were confirmed as having been taken into Gaza by Hamas fighters on Saturday.
— المرأة الفلسطينية | The Palestinian woman (@palestinewomen_) October 12, 2023
Holding hostages is a rare occurrence for Palestinian resistance groups, with the longest-held hostage having been Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held for five years before he was released in a prisoner exchange for Palestinian prisoners. In footage released of Shalit during his captivity, “Shalit is seen ‘joking’ with his captors and sipping coffee with them on different occasions, all smiles. He is even seen at a barbecue with his captors outside the hideout where he was held. Clearly, he was kept above ground rather than in a dark cellar. The Palestinian narrator in the footage even emphasizes that Shalit received fair and humane treatment from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in accordance with the rules of Islam pertaining to prisoners of war.”
