Israel releases video footage of female Army conscripts held hostage by Hamas

Israeli television aired previously withheld footage on Wednesday of five female army conscripts being seized by Hamas gunmen during the Oct. 7 raid that triggered the Gaza war.

The captives’ families hoped the footage would increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree a truce with Hamas and secure the hostages’ release.

The government saw the release of the subtitled three minute clip to national and international media as an opportunity to shore up support.

“These girls are still in the captivity of Hamas. Please don’t look away,” government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters. “Watch the film. Support Israel in bringing our people home.”

The footage shows the young women, all of them stunned and some bloodied, being bound and bundled into a jeep.

The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of the 124 people – mostly civilians – still held by Hamas, said the footage was recovered from bodycams worn by gunmen who attacked the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel where the women served as surveillance spotters.