Hamas releases first video of hostage held inside Gaza

In the footage, the woman, whose injured arm is shown being treated by an unidentified medical worker, identifies herself as 21-year-old Mia Schem and asks to be returned to her family as quickly as possible.

A representative of the family, which was among a group of French families that appealed last week to President Emmanuel Macron to help free their missing relatives, confirmed her identity to Reuters.

At least 199 Israelis and foreigners were seized by Hamas gunmen and taken captive in the attack, which killed 1,300 people, the largest number of dead in a single day in Israel's 75-year history.

The Israeli military issued a statement, saying it was in constant touch with Schem's family and condemning Hamas as a "murderous terrorist organization". It said it was using "all intelligence and operational measures" for the return of the captives.

"In the video, Hamas is trying to portray itself as a humane organization, while it is responsible for the murder and abduction of babies, women, children, and elderly," it said.

Earlier, Hamas' armed wing said non-Israelis kidnapped on Oct. 7, were "guests" who would be released "when circumstances allow".

Hamas said some 200-250 captives were in GaZa, the coastal enclave after Palestinian terrorists’ massive onslaught in southern Israel on October 7.

Schem was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists while participating in the desert rave in Kibbutz Re’im, where the gunmen killed over 260 festival-goers.

She said that she was operated on for three hours and that “I’m being cared for, I’m getting medications. I’m only asking to be returned home as soon as possible, to my family, to my parents, to my siblings. Please get me out of here as soon as possible.”

The New York Times said its analysis of metadata within the video file indicated that some of the footage was filmed at least six days ago.

Schem appears to have been singled out by Hamas since she is a dual Israeli-French citizen, and the terror group seems to want international audiences to think that it is not harming foreign nationals.

The Israel Defense Forces said that in the video, Hamas “tries to present itself as a humanitarian organization, while in fact it is a murderous terror group, responsible for the murders and kidnappings of babies, women, children and the elderly.”

The IDF added that it was continuing to work “with all the intelligence and operational means” to return the more than 200 hostages.

Foreign hostages are “our guests,” Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Hamas movement claimed, vowing to protect them and to release them whenever conditions “on the ground” allow for it.

He said the threat of an Israeli ground operation in Gaza “doesn’t scare us and we are ready for it.”

He also named an Israeli hostage allegedly killed in an Israeli bombing in the last few hours.