Hamas released a video on Saturday suggesting that 19-year-old hostage Liri Albag may still be alive. The footage shows Albag with her head bowed in despair as she describes her experience as "living in a nightmare." In the three-and-a-half-minute video, Albag mentions the New Year and says she has been in captivity for 450 days, indicating it was filmed recently.
However, there is no proof that it was filmed in the past few days. "I'm only 19 years old. I have my entire life in front of me, but now my entire life has been put on pause," Albag said through tears in the video, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Pleading for Her Life and Freedom
"We're starting a really dark year here. The world is starting to forget about us. No one cares about us. We're living in a nightmare."
The young woman made a heartfelt appeal to the Israeli government for help, before eerily saying, "I just want people to remember me, remember my name. All of this is because of the government and the army."
Her family did not approve the widespread circulation of the video, expressing that the distressing footage has "shattered our hearts."
"This is not the daughter and sister we know. She is not well — her severe psychological distress is evident. We watched our heroic Liri surviving and pleading for her life," Eli and Shira Albag said in a statement.
"She is just dozens of kilometers away from us, yet for 456 days we have been unable to bring her home. We appeal to the Prime Minister, world leaders, and all decision makers: It's time to make decisions as if your own children were there! Liri is alive and must return alive! This depends only on you! You must not miss this current opportunity to bring them back. All of them."
The video is the latest in a series of propaganda clips released by Hamas featuring Israeli captives from the October 7, 2023, attack.
Israelis Still Awaiting to be Freed
Albag was working as a surveillance soldier at the Nahal Oz military base near the Gaza border when the invasion occurred. According to the Times of Israel, 15 surveillance soldiers lost their lives during the attack, and Albag was among seven others abducted and taken to Gaza.
Of the kidnapped surveillance soldiers, one was later rescued alive, while the body of another was recovered after she was killed in captivity.
The remaining five hostages —Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Naama Levy, and Daniella Gilboa — are still being held captive. They were earlier seen in another video released over the summer, where the women appeared injured, with visible blood and bruises.
In that footage, Albag was shown trying to communicate in English with Hamas fighters, while a severely bloodied Levy stood beside her.
A separate photo showed four of the women, including Albag, lying on mats with a framed portrait of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh displayed behind them. Both Gilboa and Ariev were seen with bandages on their heads in the image.
Albag's appearance in the recent propaganda video does not ensure her safety. In August, the remains of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin were discovered in a Gaza tunnel, only months after Hamas had released a video in which the 23-year-old reassured his family he would "be home soon."
