Hamas released a video of three hostages on Monday in which kidnapped women criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The three women featured in the video are among more than 200 people who have been held against their will in Gaza since Oct. 7, the day Hamas and other terror groups based in Gaza launched an unprecedented terror attack in southern Israel.
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"Hello Bibi Netanyahu," one of the women said. "We are in Hamas captivity [already] 23 days. Yesterday there was a press conference with the families of the hostages. We know that there was supposed to be a ceasefire. You were supposed to release all of us. You made a commitment to release all of us."
"Instead of this," she continued, "we are getting punished for the political, national neglect of yours — because of that screw-up of yours on Oct. 7. Because there was no military there. Nobody came. Nobody heard about us."
It's unclear if the women's comments were made under their own volition and when they were made.
Hamas has released four hostages already, though more than 200 remain held captive. Hamas has claimed that Israeli strikes have killed some of the hostages but has not offered proof to support those claims. Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was one of two elderly women who were released last week. She said they were held in the underground Hamas tunnels that they use to hide weapons and move freely without fear of Israeli airstrikes.
“I went through a hell that we’d never imagined. [Hamas terrorists] rampaged through the kibbutz,” she said, adding that they beat her with sticks, which made it difficult to breathe.
Despite the beatings, Lifshitz noted that they “really took care of the sanitary side of things so that we didn’t get sick,” and she added, “They were very generous to us, very kind. They kept us clean. They took care of every detail. There are a lot of women and they know about feminine hygiene and they took care of everything there.”
Hamas is not believed to be holding all of the hostages.
Israeli forces have continued to expand its military operations within the Gaza Strip with its intended goal of eradicating Hamas. The terror group has continued to launch thousands of rockets into Israel, as Israel has launched thousands of airstrikes into Gaza as well. Thousands of Gaza civilians have been killed in the Israeli strikes, and there's a growing humanitarian crisis in the tiny enclave.
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"The IDF has expanded ground operations in Gaza as part of our mission to dismantle Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities in Gaza, bring the hostages home and restore security to the people of Israel," Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an IDF spokesman, said. "We are assessing the situation and progressing according to our operational plans. Specifically, we’re leveraging combined operations with real-time collaboration between troops on the ground, the air force, navy and intelligence in order to target Hamas."
Israeli troops will face significant hurdles as they carry out their ground offensive due to the urban environment, the web of tunnels, and Hamas's decision to embed itself within the civilian communities in Gaza.