mother of Avera Mengistu, an israeli citizen arrested captive in the Gaza Strip, held by Hamas for more than eight years, said Tuesday that she wanted to see her son again, and that during footage released the day before Came to show him, his voice sounded different.
In a short clip broadcast by the Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group, a man said to be Mengistu was seen wearing a button-down shirt, folding his arms and reciting a short message in a low voice. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to the video Told Tuesday that Mengistu “is alive.”
Mengistu is one of two Israeli men held by Hamas along with the remains of two soldiers killed during Israel’s war with Hamas in the summer of 2014. Israeli officials have been quietly engaged in fruitless negotiations for his release for years.
“It is not my son’s voice, I know his voice. I have carried my son, I recognize that part of the head,” Aguresh Mengistu told Channel 12 News in Amharic. “They showed me the video on the phone, several people showed it from all kinds of places. It is his head but the voice is different.
“It’s not easy after so many years, I brought him up. When I was in America with the Americans, I was there many times, I saw everything, but I don’t know. My children and I are sad,” Mengistu said , whose family has campaigned for Avera’s release, raising awareness of his cause on the international stage.
She said Netanyahu had always told her not to lose hope that she would see her son again.
,[Netanyahu] Told me, ‘We talked to the Red Cross and they said he’s alive, he’s alive, he’s alive.’ He is the one who always told me not to worry,” said Agurlesh Mengistu. “I want my son, I want to be allowed to see my son, to look into his eyes and see him.”
the family originally had some Doubt The man seen in the video was Mengistu.
Agurnesh Mengistu (screen grab) in an interview with Channel 12 News broadcast on January 17, 2023
In the clip, Mengistu introduces himself before lamenting in broken Hebrew the Israeli government’s inaction regarding his return.
“I am Bandi Avera Mengistu. How long will I be in captivity with my friends,” he muttered.
The Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it sent a letter to the leaders of major international bodies including the Vatican and the United Nations, asking them to take “urgent” action to secure the release of the remains of Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers held in Gaza.
The letter was sent to Pope Francis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljeric Eggar, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other senior UN officials.
The ministry urged international leaders to condemn Hamas, noting that Mengistu had been held for more than eight years “in gross violation of international humanitarian law, without providing information about his health status and without access to contact with his family.” or without providing any way to meet”. by Red Cross.
A foreign ministry statement said Francis met with the families of Israeli detainees last month and promised to help repatriate them.
Citizen ??????? Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed and the remains of Lt. Gen. Haider Goldin and Oron Shawl have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for years.
Their families met His Holiness Pope Francis #VaticanAsking for their help in getting them back to Israel. pic.twitter.com/42wSRLz96c
– Israel in Belgium (@IsraelinBelgium) December 21, 2022
The UN Human Rights Council remained silent on Tuesday following the publication of the footage by Hamas. UNHRC and its special envoy tasked with investigating the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, did not respond to The Times of Israel’s requests for comment on the incident.
UN officials regularly criticize Israel for its actions against Palestinians. Israel and the US accused the world body in New York and the UNHRC in Geneva of bias against the Jewish state.
International law forbids the taking of civilians, and prohibits the use of any prisoners for propaganda purposes.
netanyahu Told Work will continue with the aim of securing Mengistu’s release on Tuesday.
“Israel does not stop its efforts to return Avera Mengistu and the rest of our captives and missing persons. Yesterday we received another confirmation of what we always knew – that Avera is alive, Netanyahu said.
“This is a young man, not in good health, and the responsibility for his fate lies entirely with Hamas,” he said.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Kassim said on Tuesday that the video was made in “recent weeks” and that Israel “will not see its captured soldiers until there is a decent exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel”. .
Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said on Monday that it would replace outgoing military chief Aviv Kohavi and his Successor Herzi Halevi.
FILE: The families of Abera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed hold a press conference for the release of two Israeli citizens from Hamas captivity on September 6, 2018. (Hadas Purush/Flash90)
Channel 13 News, citing Palestinian sources, said Monday that Hamas was expected to send a message through Egypt to Israel soon, expressing interest in renewing talks over the prisoners. The network assessed that the release of the video indicates that Hamas is eager for a prisoner exchange deal, as in the past it has demanded a price from Israel for any information about detainees.
Mengistu’s family has not seen a photo or video of him since he entered Gaza more than eight years ago. One audio file An unidentified man released by Hamas in June 2021 who identified himself as “an Israeli soldier” was believed to be recording Mengistu.
Hamas has repeatedly referred to Mengistu and the other detainee, Hisham al-Sayed, as soldiers, despite neither of them having served in the Israeli military or security services. Both entered the strip of their own free will in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and their families say they suffer from mental illness.
In June 2022, Hamas published the first video of al-Sayed, a Bedouin Israeli.
In addition to the two civilians, Hamas also possesses the remains of IDF soldiers Oron Shaal and Hadar Goldin, who were killed during a 50-day conflict with the terrorist group in the summer of 2014.
Israelis participate in a rally for the return of the remains of late Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Haidar Goldin from Hamas captivity, outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, July 8, 2021. (Tomer Newberg/Flash90)
Israel and Hamas have held indirect talks in an attempt to reach a prisoner exchange deal. A similar deal that released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas captivity saw the release of 1,027 Palestinian security prisoners, many of whom were convicted terrorists.
Egyptian intelligence, which maintains close ties to both Israel and Hamas, often acts as a key intermediary.
Hamas is highly unlikely to agree to the mass release of Palestinian security prisoners, a highly controversial move that is unlikely to be approved again by any Israeli government.
The 2011 exchange to secure Shalit’s release was deeply controversial, with many in Israel’s security establishment at the time disparaging it in favor of Hamas. Many of the later released prisoners returned in terror – including Yahya Sinwar, who now serves as Hamas’ Gaza governor.
Luc Tress and Emmanuel Fabian contributed to this report.