Family of hostage in latest Hamas video urges Netanyahu to take ‘opportunity to bring them back’

By Tamar Michaelis and Tim Lister, CNN

(CNN) — The family of a hostage who appears in the latest video released by Hamas has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the opportunity to do a ceasefire deal, describing the footage as having “torn our hearts to pieces.”

The release of the video of Liri Albag comes amid the resumption in Doha of indirect negotiations on a possible ceasefire-for-hostages deal – talks that have so far shown few signs of progress, according to Israeli and Egyptian officials.

In the video, released by Hamas’ military wing, 19-year-old Albag references the New Year, but there is no definitive proof that the video was shot within the last few days.

Albag was taken hostage along with other field observers from the Nachal Oz military base near Gaza during the militant group’s October 7, 2023, cross-border attacks, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

As of December 5, Hamas was still holding 100 hostages in Gaza, most of whom were abducted during those attacks and several of whom are dead. Meanwhile, Israel’s subsequent war on Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in the enclave.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters said Albag’s family had authorized the release of two still frames from the latest video.

The family said in a statement that the video “has torn our hearts to pieces. This is not the daughter and sister we know. She is not well – her severe psychological distress is evident.”

The family added: “We watched our heroic Liri surviving and pleading for her life. She is just dozens of kilometers away from us, yet for 456 days we have been unable to bring her home.”

The family appealed to Netanyahu and world leaders, saying: “You must not miss this current opportunity to bring them back. All of them.”

The family’s appeal came as thousands of Israelis joined street protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other places throughout the country calling for a deal to release the hostages – many of them holding signs referencing Albag.

Among those attending the protests was the former hostage Almog Meir Jan, who was rescued after months in Hamas captivity. He told the crowd the footage of Albag had reminded him of his own time in captivity and said he hoped it could be a catalyst for a deal.

“We see in her eyes the longing, the fear, the exhaustion, and the frustration because she doesn’t understand why she’s still there – and neither do I,” the former hostage said.

He said the footage had reminded him of the time he had been filmed by his captors.

“It was a very frightening and stressful situation. In one moment, everything floods back as you speak and think about the nightmare you’re going through. And you film the video hoping that this time it will do the job, create the necessary noise so they’ll say that this time it’s enough, let’s end this madness, that this time it really needs to happen,” he said.

CNN is not publishing the video, in accordance with the family’s wishes, nor divulging its content, as Albag was likely speaking under duress.

Yael Alexander, the mother of American hostage Edan Alexander – a video of whom was also released recently – also addressed the crowd. Appealing to “the new leader of the free world, President-elect Donald Trump,” she urged the US to use its influence to get a deal done, saying it would “show the world what the United States can do.”

Negotiations underway

The prime minister’s office said that Netanyahu had spoken with Liri’s parents, Shira and Eli, on Saturday and assured them “that Israel continues to work tirelessly for the return of Liri and all hostages, and that the efforts are underway – including at this very moment.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also spoke to Liri’s parents Saturday and according to his office “reiterated that the Israeli representatives currently conducting negotiations must persist and remain at the negotiating table until all 100 hostages are returned home.”

Their comments come after Hamas said on Friday that indirect negotiations were resuming in Doha, Qatar, and would focus on the “agreement leading to a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip… and the return of the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled in all areas of the Strip.”

However an Israeli and an Egyptian official have told CNN they have seen little progress in the talks. Both Qatar and Egypt have long been mediators in the negotiations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview that safe passage has been offered for Hamas leaders and fighters to leave Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages.

“Israel, on various occasions has offered safe passage to Hamas’s leadership and fighters out of Gaza,” Blinken told New York Times journalist and CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

CNN has previously reported that safe passage for Hamas leadership had been considered and raised in discussions behind the scenes, and Blinken said in November that Hamas had refused such a proposal from Israel. But this is the first time an official has publicly said it has been offered on “various occasions.”

Blinken also said that in the days after the October 7 attacks, he told Netanyahu that President Joe Biden would not visit Israel unless it allowed “assistance to start flowing” into Gaza.

US President-elect Donald Trump has previously said there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not freed by the time he takes office on January 20.

The Hostages Forum said that every day “poses an immediate risk of death to the living hostages and endangers the ability to recover the fallen for proper burial.”

Noting Trump’s ultimatum, the forum added: “It is time for our prime minister and other world leaders to take courageous action and bring Liri and all the hostages home.”

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