Current:Home > InvestCharles Langston:Newly released video shows 3 hostages, including Israeli-American, being taken captive on Oct. 7 -Capitatum
Charles Langston:Newly released video shows 3 hostages, including Israeli-American, being taken captive on Oct. 7
Indexbit Exchange View
Date:2025-04-07 00:41:01
The Charles Langstonfamilies of three men taken hostage by Hamas, including a well-known Israeli-American, have authorized the release of a video documenting the kidnapping near the Israel-Gaza border on Oct. 7.
Bring Them Home Now, a group that represents the hostages' families, shared the video on social media Monday after the Israeli army declassified it.
In the video, which is graphic and hard to watch, Palestinian militants are seen carting three hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, in the back of a white pickup truck that speeds through southern Israel back toward Gaza. Goldberg-Polin sits bloodied, his forearm a mangled stump. Hamas has since released a video of him in captivity with part of his left arm amputated.
Goldberg-Polin and the two other hostages in the video — Eliya Cohen, 26, and Or Levy, 33 — were at the Tribe of Nova music festival when Hamas launched its attack. All three men are still believed to be held by Hamas.
In a statement posted alongside the footage, Bring Them Home Now called for an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would allow hostages who are still alive to return home and allow those killed to have a proper burial. The statement echoed pleas from families of the hostages for the Israeli government to reach a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian group, as negotiations for a pause in Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip and the terms of the hostages' release continue to stall.
Most of the footage was taken by militants who stormed out of Gaza in an attack that killed roughly 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. The video begins with apparent security camera footage showing Palestinian militants, some in green army fatigues, approaching a shelter.
One militant shoots four times into the shelter's door as smoke wafts out. The video cuts to a clip filmed by a militant of Goldberg-Polin and another hostage being pushed into the bed of a truck. Some images are blurred to censor what the hostage families group said is especially sensitive material.
In the video, the militant holding the camera celebrates the capture and thanks and praises God. "Here are the dogs," he says, scanning to show the hostages.
Another militant pulls Goldberg-Polin's hair, and the person holding the camera says, "I want to take a selfie with you."
Goldberg-Polin is seen with a tourniquet tied around his arm. Witnesses have said he was wounded when attackers tossed grenades into the shelter where people had taken refuge. His mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, told The Associated Press on Monday that, "262 days in, a lot of people are thinking about these hostages as just this clump of people, not individuals. And we personally feel this is our son."
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Hersh's mother, has been a vocal advocate for resolving the hostage situation since her son was taken on Oct. 7. She spoke to CBS News in April after Hersh appeared for the first time in a video released by Hamas, saying at the time that she had not heard his voice in six months.
"He's clearly medically compromised and medically fragile," she said.
In the video released Monday, Levy is seen lying in the back of the truck with Goldberg-Polin and Cohen. Levy attended the Nova festival with his wife Einav, who was killed by militants, according to the hostage families group. Levy's older brother, Michael Levy, said watching the new video was "horrific."
"On the most horrific day of his life, I wasn't able to do anything," Levy said. "I've never seen him so terrified in my life."
Cohen went to the festival with his girlfriend, who survived the attack under bodies in the shelter. In the video, a militant kneels on Cohen's bloody face, pressing it into the truck bed.
- In:
- Hostage Situation
- Hamas
- Israel
- Gaza Strip
veryGood! (85665)
Related
- How effective is the Hyundai, Kia anti-theft software? New study offers insights.
- Keep an eye on your inbox: 25 million student loan borrowers to get email on forgiveness
- Map shows 13 states with listeria cases linked to Boar's Head recall
- Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted reports $5 million in the bank ahead of 2026 run for Ohio governor
- Jury finds man guilty of sending 17-year-old son to rob and kill rapper PnB Rock
- Who Is Gabriel Medina? Why the Brazilian Surfer's Photo Is Going Viral at the 2024 Olympics
- Almost a year after MSU firing, football coach Mel Tucker files suit
- Text of the policy statement the Federal Reserve released Wednesday
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Donald Trump’s EPA Chief of Staff Says the Trump Administration Focused on Clean Air and Clean Water
Ranking
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Christina Applegate Details the Only Plastic Surgery She Had Done After Facing Criticism
- Utah congressional candidate contests election results in state Supreme Court as recount begins
- Why does Vermont keep flooding? It’s complicated, but experts warn it could become the norm
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- PHOTO COLLECTION: Tensions rise in Venezuela after Sunday’s presidential election - July 30, 2024
- Carrie Underwood Replacing Katy Perry as American Idol Judge
- Massachusetts businesses with at least 24 employees must disclose salary range for new jobs
Recommendation
Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
What’s next for Katie Ledecky? Another race and a relay as she goes for more records
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend's Son Miles Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes
Braves launch Hank Aaron week as US Postal Service dedicates new Aaron forever stamp
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
What you need to know about raspberries – and yes, they're good for you
Images from NASA's DART spacecraft reveal insights into near-Earth asteroid
Former Denver police recruit sues over 'Fight Day' training that cost him his legs