Hamas armed wing releases video of Israeli-German hostage held in Gaza
The six-minute video, shared on Thursday, features the hostage, identified as Rom Braslavski, speaking in Hebrew and calling on the Israeli government to help secure his release. He is also shown watching Arabic-language television reports on the worsening food crisis in Gaza.
AFP and several Israeli outlets identified the man as Braslavski, a dual national from Jerusalem. He had been working as a security agent at the Nova music festival, one of the sites attacked during the October assault.
At the start of the footage, Hamas's armed wing claims it has lost contact with Braslavski, repeating a statement it made last week. This suggests the video may have been recorded earlier.
A previous video of Braslavski was released on 16 April. Witnesses say that before being abducted, he helped rescue several festival attendees during the attack.
According to the Israeli military, 251 people were taken hostage during the October 2023 raid into southern Israel. Of those, 49 remain in Gaza, including 27 believed to be dead.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza following the attack. A temporary ceasefire earlier this year, from January 19 to March 17, led to the release of 33 hostages eight of whom were dead in exchange for the release of around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.
Braslavski's video was released by a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
42 minutes ago
- News18
Gaza aid truck drivers face increasing danger from desperate crowds, armed gangs
Agency: PTI Deir al-Balah, Aug 5 (AP) Truck drivers trying to deliver aid inside Gaza say their work has become increasingly dangerous in recent months as people have grown desperately hungry and violent gangs have filled a power vacuum left by the territory's Hamas rulers. Crowds of hungry people routinely rip aid off the backs of moving trucks, the local drivers said. Some trucks are hijacked by armed men working for gangs who sell the aid in Gaza's markets for exorbitant prices. Israeli troops often shoot into the chaos, they said. Drivers have been killed in the mayhem. Since March, when Israel ended a ceasefire in its war with Hamas and halted all imports, the situation has grown increasingly dire in the territory of some 2 million Palestinians. International experts are now warning of a 'worst-case scenario of famine" in Gaza. Under heavy international pressure, Israel last week announced measures to let more aid into Gaza. Though aid groups say it's still not enough, getting even that amount from the border crossings to the people who need it is difficult and extremely dangerous, the drivers said. Driving aid trucks can be deadly Thousands of people packed around the road Monday as two trucks entered southern Gaza, AP video showed. Young men overwhelmed the trucks, standing on the cabs' roofs, dangling from the sides and clambering over each other onto the truck beds to grab boxes even as the trucks slowly kept driving. 'Some of my drivers are scared to go transfer aid because they're concerned about how they'll untangle themselves from large crowds of people," said Abu Khaled Selim, vice president of the Special Transport Association, a nonprofit group that works with private transportation companies across the Gaza Strip and advocates for truck drivers' rights. Selim said his nephew, Ashraf Selim, a father of eight, was killed July 29 by a stray bullet when Israeli forces opened fire on crowds climbing onto the aid truck he was driving. Shifa Hospital officials said they received his body with an apparent gunshot to the head. The Israeli military said it was unaware of the incident and that 'as a rule" it does not carry out deliberate attacks on aid trucks. Earlier in the war, aid deliveries were safer because, with more food getting into Gaza, the population was less desperate. Hamas-run police had been seen securing convoys and went after suspected looters and merchants who resold aid at exorbitant prices, Now, 'with the situation unsecured, everything is permissible," said Selim, who appealed for protection so the aid trucks could reach warehouses. The UN does not accept protection from Israeli forces, saying it would violate its rules of neutrality, and said that given the urgent need for aid it would accept that hungry people were going to grab food off the back of the trucks as long as they weren't violent. Flooding Gaza with renewed aid would ease the desperation and make things safer for the drivers, said Juliette Touma, communications director at UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The danger for drivers is growing Ali al-Derbashi, 22, was an aid truck driver for more than a year and a half, but he quit after his last trip three weeks ago because of the increasing danger, he said. Some people taking aid off the trucks are now carrying cleavers, knives and axes, he said. He was once ambushed and forcibly redirected to an area designated by Israel as a conflict zone in its war against Hamas. There everything was stolen, including his truck's fuel and batteries, and his tires were shot out, he said. He was beaten and his phone was stolen. 'We put our lives in danger for this. We leave our families for two or three days every time. And we don't even have water or food ourselves," he said. In addition to the danger, the drivers faced humiliation from Israeli forces, he said, who put them through 'prolonged searches, unclear instructions, and hours of waiting." The war began October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 others. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the latest figures by Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians and operates under the Hamas government. The threats come from everywhere Nahed Sheheibr, head of the Special Transport Association, said the danger for the drivers comes from everywhere. He accused Israel of detaining drivers and using them as human shields. The Israeli military did not comment on the accusation. In recent days, men linked to a violent Gaza clan fired at drivers, injuring one, and looted a convoy of 14 trucks, he said. They later looted a convoy of 10 trucks. Hossni al-Sharafi, who runs a trucking company and was an aid driver himself, said he is only allowed to use drivers who have no political affiliation and have been approved by Israel to transport aid from crossings. Al-Sharafi said he was detained by Israeli forces for more than 10 days last year while transporting aid from the southern Kerem Shalom crossing and interrogated about where the truck was headed and how the aid was being distributed. Israeli officials did not comment on the accusations. Some drivers spoke of being shot at repeatedly by armed gangs. Others said their trucks were routinely picked clean — even of the wooden pallets— by waves of desperate people, many of whom were fighting each other for the food, while Israeli troops were shooting. Hungry families who miss out on the aid throw stones at the trucks in anger. Anas Rabea said the moment he pulled out of the Zikkim crossing last week his aid truck was overwhelmed by a crowd. 'Our instructions are to stop, because we don't want to run anyone over," he said. 'It's crazy. You have people climbing all over the cargo, over the windows. It's like you're blind, you can't see out." After the crowd had stripped everything, he drove another few hundred metres and was stopped by an armed gang that threatened to shoot him. They searched the truck and took a bag of flour he had saved for himself, he said. 'Every time we go out, we get robbed," he said. 'It's getting worse day by day." (AP) GRS GRS (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: August 05, 2025, 21:30 IST News agency-feeds Gaza aid truck drivers face increasing danger from desperate crowds, armed gangs Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Netanyahu Set To Unveil New War Plan, May Order 'Total Conquest Of Gaza' Gaza Ceasefire
sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to propose fully reoccupying the Gaza Strip when he meets his security cabinet, Israeli media say."The die has been cast. We're going for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip – and defeating Hamas," local journalists quote a senior official to reports that the army chief and other military leaders oppose the plan, the unnamed official said: "If that doesn't work for the chief of staff, he should resign." Source: Reuters News18 Mobile App -
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Inside Jeffrey Epstein's New York lair: Hidden cameras in bedrooms, 'Lolita' and framed photos with billionaires
A new report has offered a closer look inside the Manhattan townhouse of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing a trove of disturbing and bizarre details about his private life and connections with powerful individuals. This undated trial evidence image shows British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and US financier Jeffrey Epstein.(AFP) The New York Times published previously unseen photographs of the seven-story Upper East Side residence, which had long remained hidden from public view. The 21,000-square-foot property, estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars, was reportedly filled with unsettling art, surveillance equipment and personal memorabilia tied to global elites. Among the most notable items was a framed $1 bill signed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, inscribed with the message: 'I was wrong.' A first-edition copy of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, a controversial novel about an adult man's sexual obsession with a 12-year-old girl who repeatedly rapes her, was also displayed inside the home. Epstein's townhouse was outfitted with surveillance cameras, including several installed in bedrooms. The report noted that photos of prominent world figures lined the house, including Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. A letter from filmmaker Woody Allen was also found, describing Epstein's dinner parties as reminiscent of Dracula's castle, which had 'three young female vampires who service the place.' Other elements found inside included eerie taxidermy animals, a sculpture of a woman in a bridal gown hanging from a rope and a painting of former President Bill Clinton in a blue dress and red heels. In the massage room were paintings of naked women and shelves stocked with lubricant, according to photos reviewed by The New York Times. Epstein regularly directed teenage girls to massage him while he was naked and masturbated in front of them, according to court records and interviews with victims, the report added.
