Hamas published a video in which Avraham Mengistu, an Israeli man suffering from mental disorders who crossed over into Gaza and was taken captive, is allegedly seen. The video seems to be planned and was published just after Monday’s ceremony for the transfer of the position of Israel Defense Forces Chief of the General Staff, between Aviv Kochavi and Hertzi Halevi.
The video opens with the caption "Kochavi and his establishment failed" along with a message to Halevi, the incoming Chief of Staff, and an attempt to use psychological warfare on the Israeli public: "Halevi should prepare himself to bear the burden of failure and its consequences. Your predecessor left you with a lot of grief and lies."
How will security forces determine the authenticity of the video released by Hamas showing Israeli captive Avera Mengistu alive?@IsaacBenIsrael details the process being undertaken by the authorities to ensure the video is not a deep fake#i24NEWSDesk | @sarahmartinez_7 pic.twitter.com/7pLlR22G6r
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) January 17, 2023
Kochavi, the former Chief of Staff, addressed the issue of captives and MIA soldiers in his farewell interview he gave to Yedioth Ahronoth. "In the current reality, there are optimized conditions for the possibility of returning the captives in Gaza. This is our commitment and my personal one to the families, and in the current reality there are several reasons that facilitate the possibility of promoting this."
He further noted in the interview that "Hamas, and we heard this from [Yahya] Sinwar, understands that it has suffered extremely serious loses and understands that it has not achieved anything in any of the operations, and therefore has currently chosen a policy of not committing terrorism against Israel and focusing on the welfare of their citizens."
Immediately after the release of the video, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office circulated a message to ministers according to which "Hamas is delaying any chance of a deal. The publication of the video, along with its [Hamas] numerous actions in the past, prove that this is a terrorist organization that is holding the citizens of Gaza hostage, and they are forced to pay the price of its actions."
The authenticity of the footage of Israeli citizen Avera Mengistu released by Hamas is thought to be reasonably reliable, although the possibility that it is not actually Mengistu cannot be ruled out, the #IDF spokesperson said on Tuesday.https://t.co/88bPmVbd0B
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) January 17, 2023
Mengistu is not the only mentally impaired Israeli to accidentally cross into Gaza and be taken by Hamas; Hisham Al-Sayed a Muslim Bedoin, is also reportedly in the hands of Hamas terrorists. In another statement by the PM’s office Monday afternoon, it was said "Hamas has been holding captive two mentally ill citizens for years, and this is against Israeli law and international law. This is a humanitarian crisis and Israel considers Hamas to be directly responsible for their situation."
Israel National News > Israeli News
— 🇮🇱🇺🇸Yehiel Yisrael יחיאל ישראל Free Speech! (@yerushalmi777) January 17, 2023
Religious Zionist MK to INN: We must not play into the hands of Hamas
MK Moshe Solomon responds to video Avera Mengistu released by Hamas: I feel pain for family been going through so long.
Yoni Kempinski
Jan 17, 2023 https://t.co/pR0sOQxFKA
The Prime Minister’s office also clarified that at this stage it is still not possible to determine the reliability of the footage or date of it, and as part of the messages distributed to the other ministers it was written that "the video is a cynical and despicable media stunt, surrounding a humanitarian case of a mentally wounded Israeli citizen, which proves more than anything that Hamas is frustrated and under pressure."
