Latest news with #MaximHerkin
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Families share footage of hostages Bar Kupershtein, Maxim Herkin in Gaza
"We are dying here with a pulse, we don't feel human," the two said in the brief clip from the Hostages' Families Headquarters. "We are again 30 meters underground." The families of Gaza hostages Bar Abraham Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin on Thursday released a short clip from the first sign of life they received in a Hamas propaganda video three months ago. "We are dying here with a pulse, we don't feel human," the two said in the brief clip from the Hostages' Families Forum. "We are again 30 meters underground." About a month later, an additional sign of life was published by Hamas, showing Herkin alone. The families initially refused to allow the publication of the videos. Still, they were released by the forum on Thursday, 'To sound the cry of the hostage families in the face of the possibility of a partial deal involving cruel selections, separating one blood from another. All 50 hostages and the hostage are humanitarian cases—some of them in life-threatening situations, and others at risk of being lost forever." "The families demand to bring an overall agreement that will ensure the return of the last hostage. This is the right and moral action, one that does not require separating siblings and immoral choices of one hostage over another." Although not a fan of parties, Herkin agreed to attend the Nova festival with two friends. Both were killed in the October 7 Hamas onslaught, and their bodies were later found burned inside a vehicle. Before being taken hostage, Herkin managed to send a message to his mother. 'Mom, everything's okay. I'm slowly making my way home,' he wrote. Kupershtein was taken to Gaza from the Nova party, where he worked as a security guard. During the attack, he stayed behind to assist the Israeli police and security team, providing first aid to the injured. Kupershtein reportedly inherited his desire to help others from his father, who was a volunteer medic. Tal was injured in a severe car accident and has been disabled since then. Bar has taken on the majority of the family's financial responsibilities, working various jobs since high school while also volunteering for Yedidim. On the morning of the attack, Kupershtein's family tried to reach him for hours. "It was clear something bad had happened," his aunt said.
Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Israeli hostages say they are ‘dead men walking' in new video
A previously unseen video of two Israeli hostages held in Gaza has been published for the first time, as their families push hard for a ceasefire deal that will get them released. Maxim Herkin, 37, and Bar Kuperstein, 23, said they were being held 30 metres underground. The video, which was released by Hamas in April and published by a group representing their families on Thursday, showed several hostages desperately pleading for their lives. 'We are dead men walking,' Herkin said, his right hand in bandages. 'We don't feel like human beings.' A month later, in May, another video of Herkin was released, this time he was alone. Hamas is holding at least 20 living hostages following its attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and another 30 bodies of those killed on that day, or while in captivity. Since then, there have been two ceasefires, in which many of the 250 people taken, including women, children and the elderly, were released. Efforts to reach a new ceasefire have so far failed but pressure from American and Qatari mediators is pushing the warring sides back to the table. New details released in The New York Times said ten living hostages and 18 bodies could be released in five stages over a ceasefire of 60 days, with no handover ceremonies as in previous exchanges. Hamas were said to have agreed to a new proposal on Thursday but reiterated the condition that the ceasefire would lead to discussions to permanently end the war — a stumbling block for Israel that resulted in the collapse of the previous ceasefire and the resumption of fighting in March. The heavily edited Hamas video, posted by the hostage families' forum, shows several hostages pleading for their lives. They are being held in dire conditions, many of them bound and starving deep underground. 'Please,' Kuperstein added. The video also showed clips of other Hamas films, including from their abduction and inside tunnels. Both hostages were taken from the Nova music festival, where about 380 revellers, mainly young people, shot dead. The daily fighting in Gaza endangers the lives of Israeli hostages, their families and freed hostages say. Overnight, 94 Palestinians were killed by airstrikes and shootings, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, which remains under Hamas control. Some 45 of those were in or around military-controlled aid distribution sites, where the killing of civilians has become an almost daily occurrence. • Will there be a ceasefire in Gaza? Negotiations examined Videos and accounts released by the Associated Press on Thursday told of American contractors employed at the aid sites using live ammunition, stun grenades and pepper spray as forms of 'crowd control' to deal with the masses in search of food. 'There are innocent people being hurt. Badly. Needlessly,' one contractor was quoted as saying. The contractors said unqualified staff were hired to guard the areas and seemed to have an open licence to act as they saw fit. Protesters calling for the release of the hostages in Gaza in Jerusalem in April 2024 AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Rights organisations say over 450 Gazans have been killed while they wait for food. Meanwhile Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is set to visit the site of one of the worst-hit communities in southern Israel since the start of the war, Kibbutz Nir Oz, where a quarter of the residents were either kidnapped or killed. Anti-government groups have called for demonstrations at the kibbutz over Netanyahu's failure to end the war.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hamas releases video of Israeli hostage as 11 killed in strikes on Gaza
Hamas on Saturday released footage of an apparently injured Israeli-Russian hostage held in Gaza as 11 Palestinians, including three infants, were killed in a strike on the territory, its civil defence agency said. Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 2,396 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,495. Gaza militants still hold 58 hostages, 34 of whom the army says are dead. Hamas is also holding the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a previous war in Gaza in 2014. The militant group's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Saturday showing a hostage AFP and Israeli media identified as Russian-Israeli Maxim Herkin. In the undated four-minute video, Herkin, who turns 37 at he end of May, was shown wearing bandages on his head and left arm. Speaking in Hebrew in the video, which his family urged media to to disseminate, he implied he had been wounded in a recent Israeli bombardment and referred to himself only as "Prisoner 24". - 'Coming home' - AFP was unable to determine the health of Herkin, who gave a similar message to other hostages shown in videos released by Hamas, urging pressure on the Israeli government to free the remaining captives. Herkin also appeared in a previous video released by Hamas in early April. In that video, he appeared alongside a second hostage Israeli media identified as soldier Bar Kuperstein. Both men were abducted by Palestinian militants from the Nova music festival during the Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Herkin, had emigrated to Israel from Ukraine with his mother. Before being abducted, the father of one had written to his mother: "All is well. I'm coming home." Several thousand Israelis demonstrated outside the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding action from the government to secure the hostages' release. The government says its renewed offensive is aimed at forcing Hamas to free its remaining captives, although critics charge that it puts them in mortal danger. Since the end of the truce, Hamas has released several videos of hostages. The latest images come as efforts by mediators to broker a new truce have stalled. - 'Bright light' - In Gaza, the civil defence agency said on Saturday that an overnight Israeli strike on the Khan Yunis refugee camp killed at least 11 people, including three infants aged one or less. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal say they were killed in the "bombardment of the Al-Bayram family home in Khan Yunis camp" at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT). Bassal told AFP that eight of the dead had been identified and were all from the same extended family, including a boy and girl, both one, and a month-old baby. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the strike, saying it targeted a "Hamas member". Rescue workers and residents combed the rubble for survivors with their bare hands, under the light of hand-held torches, an AFP journalist reported. Neighbour Fayka Abu Hatab said she "saw a bright light, then there was an explosion, and dust covered the entire area". "We couldn't see anything, it all went dark," she said. Israel has blocked all aid deliveries to Gaza since March 2, prompting dire warnings from UN agencies of impending humanitarian disaster. str-csp/kir
Morocco World
04-05-2025
- Health
- Morocco World
Gaza Genocide: Tensions Escalate as Israel Calls Up Reserve Forces
Rabat – In a significant alarming military escalation, Israel has begun mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists to intensify operations in Gaza, according to multiple Israeli news sources. The development coincides with Hamas releasing footage of a hostage Russian-Israeli man, identified by media as Maxim Herkin. The video shows a bandaged individual speaking Hebrew with a Russian accent who refers to himself as 'prisoner number 24' and appears to have sustained injuries from bombing. His family has requested media outlets refrain from sharing the recording. The Israeli Occupation Forces' (IOF) are fortifying their ranks following months of committing a devastating genocide on Gaza. After a brief two-month ceasefire, IOF resumed its genocidal assaults on March 18, continuing the genocide that has killed over 52,000 Palestinian lives according to Hamas Health Ministry figures. Exacerbating the already dire catastrophe, the IOF enforced on March 2 a food and humanitarian aid blockade that international organizations have strongly condemned, accusing Netanyahu's government as using it asa a tactic of collective punishment against civilians. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned against a 'catastrophic' situation looming the enclave due to the prolonged prevention entry of medical aid for nearly two months. 'We are very close to the edge of the abyss,' said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris in a statement, pointing out the dire impact of the Israeli siege on Gaza's healthcare system. Read also: ICJ Holds Hearings on Israel's Humanitarian Obligations to Palestinians Since dawn on Sunday, Israeli airstrikes have already killed 23 Palestinians, including 19 in southern Gaza. As usual, Israel justifies their relentless assaults as necessary in order to pressure to secure the release the remaining hostages from Gaza as well as broader security objectives. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has recently vowed that he will get back the hostages without caving down to Hamas' pressure. The newly mobilized reservists will reportedly replace active-duty occupation forces across Israel and the West Bank, freeing those troops for combat operations in Gaza. When questioned, the IOF' spokespersons neither confirmed nor denied these deployment plans, though mobilization orders (Tsav 8) are already reaching civilians. On Saturday evening, thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv carrying photos of hostages, demanding their government take more effective action to bring hostages home safely. Tags: GazaHamas and Israel
Gulf Today
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
11 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza as Hamas releases video of a hostage
Hamas on Saturday released footage of an apparently injured Israeli-Russian hostage held in Gaza as 11 Palestinians, including three infants, were killed in a strike on the territory, its civil defence agency said. Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 2,396 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,495. Gaza fighters still hold 58 hostages, 34 of whom the army says are dead. Hamas is also holding the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a previous war in Gaza in 2014. Smoke rises from Gaza after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday. Reuters The Palestinian group's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, released a video on Saturday showing a hostage to the media and Israeli media identified as Russian-Israeli Maxim Herkin. In the undated four-minute video, Herkin, who turns 37 at he end of May, was shown wearing bandages on his head and left arm. Speaking in Hebrew in the video, which his family urged media to to disseminate, he implied he had been wounded in a recent Israeli bombardment and referred to himself only as "Prisoner 24". 'Coming home' The media was unable to determine the health of Herkin, who gave a similar message to other hostages shown in videos released by Hamas, urging pressure on the Israeli government to free the remaining captives. Herkin also appeared in a previous video released by Hamas in early April. In that video, he appeared alongside a second hostage Israeli media identified as soldier Bar Kuperstein. Both men were abducted by Palestinian fighters from the Nova music festival during the Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Palestinians search the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Saturday. AP Herkin, had emigrated to Israel from Ukraine with his mother. Before being abducted, the father of one had written to his mother: "All is well. I'm coming home." Several thousand Israelis demonstrated outside the defence ministry in Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding action from the government to secure the hostages' release. The government says its renewed offensive is aimed at forcing Hamas to free its remaining captives, although critics charge that it puts them in mortal danger. Since the end of the truce, Hamas has released several videos of hostages. The latest images come as efforts by mediators to broker a new truce have stalled. 'Bright light' In Gaza, the civil defence agency said on Saturday that an overnight Israeli strike on the Khan Yunis refugee camp killed at least 11 people, including three infants aged one or less. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal say they were killed in the "bombardment of the Al-Bayram family home in Khan Yunis camp" at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT). Bassal told AFP that eight of the dead had been identified and were all from the same extended family, including a boy and girl, both one, and a month-old baby. An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the strike, saying it targeted a "Hamas member". Palestinians receive donated food at a community kitchen in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday. AP Rescue workers and residents combed the rubble for survivors with their bare hands, under the light of hand-held torches, an AFP journalist reported. Neighbour Fayka Abu Hatab said she "saw a bright light, then there was an explosion, and dust covered the entire area". "We couldn't see anything, it all went dark," she said. Israel has blocked all aid deliveries to Gaza since March 2, prompting dire warnings from UN agencies of impending humanitarian disaster. Agence France-Presse
