Hamas says a female prisoner and two children, who were held hostage in Gaza after being captured on Saturday, have been released, Walla! reported.
Initially streamed on Al Jazeera, grainy and unclear footage shows what is believed to be a woman released with a young child and infant. The video shows the three being set free and making their way back to Israel. The events in the video are believed to have occurred on Saturday and only later streamed online.Avital Aladgem, who was released along with the children, but is not their mother, spoke to N12 after her release with 4-year-old Negev and 6-month-old Ashel. The mother of the two children was apparently kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
חמאס אומר ששוחררה שבויה ושני ילדיה שנשבו במהלך המתקפה. ההודעה של הארגון מצוטטת על ידי אל-ג’זירה
— Guy Elster (@guyelster) October 11, 2023
Hamas’ purpose in publishing the footage is apparently to provide a counterpoint to the international criticism of Hamas and the comparison between it and ISIS, according to Israeli media.
The children were not released with their mother
The children’s mother, 33-year-old Adi Vital-Kaplon, was apparently kidnapped from her home in Holit along with the two children.
The children were helped back to the border by Israeli soldiers, according to Israeli media.