Israeli hostage cries, pleads for freedom in new Hamas video: Get me out of here

Palestinian terror group Hamas released a new video of an Israeli hostage, Elkana Bohbot, crying uncontrollably and pleading with the government to help him return to his home. This is the second such video within a week of the hostage who has been held in Gaza for 540 days.

Bohbot, who was kidnapped from a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, pleaded for his freedom in an over-three-minute video. He appeared distraught and begged for his release so that he could reunite with his wife and his son. He also said that he was not pressured into making a video by Hamas and had himself requested for it.

“I am the one who asked to do these videos. Hamas did not tell me to make these videos. This is not psychological warfare,” he said in Hebrew, as per the translation done by The Times of Israel.

'I MISS MY WIFE, SON'

“The real psychological warfare is what is going on inside my head, every morning when I wake up without my son and my wife,” he added. “It’s screwing me up, it’s making me crazy!”

“Do you not understand? I want to get out of here!” Bohbot pleaded. “I miss my wife, my son. Everyone. My family, get me out of here!”

Bohbot also asked the government why it had not secured the release of all the hostages: “You got the female soldiers out. You got the elderly out, you got the young people out. You got everyone else out. What about us?”

Further, he argued against the government’s assertion that only use of force will lead Hamas to free hostages.

“We are getting bombed every day. Every day, we are bombed for 24 hours a day. Do you not understand this? And they say that they’re going to get us out using force. No one can get us out using force, don’t you see? It will kill us, finish us. I’m afraid every second of every day that I’ll die here!”

He then said that he wanted to celebrate his son’s fifth birthday as he got on his knees and pleaded for his and his fellow hostages’ release.

“Please help us!” he cried. “Please!”

FAMILY ANXIOUS

This is the second video of Bohbot released by rebel group Hamas in a week. The previous video showed him alongside another captive, Yosef-Haim Ohana, who is also held by the terror group in the Gaza Strip.

Shortly after the new video was published by the terror group, Bohbot’s family approved the publication of the video in Israeli media.

Later, Bohbot’s family published a short statement saying, “We are anxious and worried. How much longer can Elkana survive in the hell of Gaza? We are pleading with the people of Israel—listen to Elkana’s cry. Do not forget him. We must save him and our brothers in captivity. This is the second sign of life we have received this week. How many more will there be? Signs of life must not become final memories. Elkana, if you can hear us—we will not stop fighting until you come home to us.”

36-year-old Bohbot was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251, sparking the war in Gaza.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip still hold a total of 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF. Bohbot is among the 24 living hostages slated for release in the proposed second stage of the ceasefire deal agreed upon in January, which fell apart after its first stage as Israel renewed the fighting in Gaza.