Newly launched movies show six Israeli hostages celebrating Hanukkah in a tunnel in Gaza months before they were killed by Hamas in August 2024.
Two of the clips show the hostages gingerly lighting makeshift candles on a menorah manufactured from disposable cups. The hostages – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, and Alex Lobanov – say the Jewish blessings before lighting the candles in what would have been early-December 2023.
In a video that seems to be from the second night time of the vacation, Sarusi smiles on the digital camera and says, “Now it’s the holiday of Hanukkah. Happy holiday to us and to all the people of Israel. We should celebrate every year and be happy and joyous, and with the help of this holiday’s miracles, we’ll get home with a great miracle, and return to a normal and happy life, and be happy – all of us.”
The six hostages in the movies were killed as Israeli forces drew closer to their position, based on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which mentioned on the time that they were “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists, a short while before we reached them.”
The incident is broadly thought of some of the painful moments of the struggle for Israelis and sparked contemporary outrage at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to safe a hostage deal. Three of the six hostages were anticipated to be launched in the primary part of an eventual ceasefire settlement.
The movies, launched by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Thursday, present a glimpse into the lifetime of the hostages throughout their captivity. All of the movies, which were first aired in full by Channel 12’s UVDA, are watermarked “From materials captured by the IDF.”
Throughout the struggle, Hamas had launched propaganda videos displaying Israeli hostages pleading with the Israeli authorities or US President Donald Trump to safe their launch. But these movies and nonetheless photographs, which the discussion board says were filmed by Hamas, show a part of the hostages’ time in the tunnels underneath Gaza.
In two brief clips, a few of the hostages may be seen enjoying playing cards or chess whereas sitting on mats on the ground. In one other, a member of Hamas units some fruit on the ground between the group.
One video reveals the hostages counting down on New Year’s Eve. As they attain zero, they get up for a gaggle hug as they say “Happy New Year” to one another. The hostages seem relaxed in the clip as they look into the digital camera and share their hopes for launch.
“Happy New year to everyone, all of the families, all of the people of Israel,” says Yerushalmi. “We’re very much waiting to come home.”
Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American twin citizen, waves on the digital camera as he says, “We’re here, healthy, alive – they’re taking care of us, we’re ok. We want to return home.” His left arm, partially blown off in a grenade assault on October 7, 2023, is seen in the video.
In an announcement accompanying the discharge of the movies, the discussion board mentioned, “Hamas filmed these videos as propaganda, but the humanity of the beautiful six shines through this footage. The entire world must see our loved ones in these moments, their unity, strength, and humanity even in the darkest times.”