Hamas releases video of captives at handover ceremony
The video shows Eviatar David and Guy Giloba-Dalal in a vehicle at the stage set up by Hamas for the release of three other captives in Nuseirat in central Gaza.
David and Gliboa-Dalal are not among those slated for release in the first phase of the ceasefire deal. In the video, the two men are seen saying, “Please save us. Please take us home.”
Referring to the release of Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Omer Shem Tov, the men remaining in captivity say, “We want to be like them.”
Families of Israeli captives slam Hamas video
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of the Israeli captives held in Gaza, has condemned the Hamas video showing Eviatar David and Guy Giloba-Dalal at the handover ceremony on Saturday.
“Today, Hamas released a disturbing video showing Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal forced to watch as three fellow hostages were freed, while they remain in captivity,” the group said in a post on X.
“This calculated act of psychological torture is a stark, sickening display of cruelty. Evyatar, Guy, and [a] dozen other hostages have been tragically excluded from this current phase,” it said.
The group called on Trump and Netanyahu to bring back the remaining 63 captives held in Gaza, saying that “there is no time for stages or delays” and that “every second counts”.
Today, Hamas released a disturbing video showing Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal forced to watch as three fellow hostages were freed, while they remain in captivity. This calculated act of psychological torture is a stark, sickening display of cruelty.
Evyatar, Guy, and dozen… pic.twitter.com/8aK8jtm8UK
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) February 22, 2025
Hamas has repeatedly offered to release all hostages at once in exchange for ending the war. Israel keeps refusing. Israel keeps delaying.
Ceasefire deal has stumbled before: Former US-diplomat
Nabeel Khoury says that while the ceasefire is clearly stumbling, it is not for the first time.
“I imagine, eventually, they’ll find a way of finishing this exchange,” the former US diplomat told Al Jazeera.
Khoury added that for the Israeli government, returning captives taken from Israel and held in Gaza has never been as important as “trying to totally destroy Hamas”.
Israel is now in a “public relations war”, he added, “and feeling that they’ve been somehow humiliated by how well prepared Hamas has been in the release of these hostages, given that they are coming out from under the rubble and from partially destroyed tunnels”.
“Considering all the circumstances, the release has been actually very well organised, and the treatment seems to be very humane. I’m sure there were some mistakes committed,” he said.
But Khoury notes that the Trump administration has “fully endorsed” the Israeli perspective that “somehow Hamas is humiliating the hostages and is using their release as a propaganda event”, meaning that the remaining pressure on Israel to “bring this deal to a conclusion” comes from the “families of the hostages and left-wing opposition parties” within Israel.
