RSS
Disturbing New Video Shows Hamas Terrorists Kidnapping Female Israeli Hostages on Oct. 7
Hamas terrorists kidnapping Israeli women at the Nahal Oz base near the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Screenshot
A disturbing new video shows the moments when five female Israeli soldiers, covered in blood, were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 at the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip.
In the video, Hamas terrorists force the young women, some of whom are teenagers, against a wall and threaten to kill them. The video was edited to remove graphic images of multiple dead bodies lying around them.
In the midst of dozens of Hamas terrorists surrounding and yelling at the girls, a terrorist appears to call them “beautiful.” Additionally, there is debate over whether one of the terrorist referred to the captives as what amounts to a sex slave or if he was saying the word “young woman,” which sounds similar.
“The video of the female observers’ abduction is a wake-up call to the civilized world,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which released the video on Wednesday, wrote on X/Twitter. “We must condemn those actions and we cannot abandon the hostages held captive for 229 days.”
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists kidnapped over 250 people and murdered 1,200 others during their surprise invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7. About 125 hostages, including the five women in the video, remain unaccounted for, either dead or alive in Gaza. The rest have either been rescued by Israeli forces or released as part of a temporary ceasefire last year.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum argued the video shows why “the Israeli government and the international community can’t waste another moment.” It concluded, “We must get back to the negotiation table today! #BringThemHomeNow.”
Trigger alert –
The video of the female observers’ abduction, is a wake-up call to the civilized world. We must condemn those actions and we can not abandon the hostages held captive for 229 days.
This video, captured by the body cameras of Hamas terrorists on October 7th,… pic.twitter.com/wuRxpsTBtA
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) May 22, 2024
One of the hostages, Naama Levy, can be seen pleading with the terrorists, saying, “I have friends in Palestine.”
Levy participated in a program called Hands of Peace in 2022, which was a three-week dialogue-based program for American, Israeli, and Palestinian teenagers. During a speech she gave at the program, she explained the reason she joined Hands of Peace: “I wanted to hear the other side. We live so close to each other but we never actually get to talk to one another.”
The other hostages in the video have been identified as Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa, Liri Albag, and Karina Ariev.
Women who have been released from Hamas captivity have said they experienced sexual assault and other forms of torture in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was planning to show European diplomats the video of the women being kidnapped amid the decision of Ireland, Spain, and Norway to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
Seth Frantzman, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis, wrote that he was disturbed by the fact that the women in the video were essentially abandoned.
“Not one of their commanding officers has been relieved of command. There’s an entire command structure above them that abandoned them there for many hours,” he said.
Frantzman added, “The women were unarmed, and despite many warnings from the women, who served as IDF [Israel Defense Forces] observers monitoring screens watching Gaza, the brass did not stay alert to the rising Hamas threat.”
The video comes amid rising pressure on Israel’s government by the families of hostages to come to a deal to secure their release. Many of the families do not believe the government, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has done enough to reach a deal.
The post Disturbing New Video Shows Hamas Terrorists Kidnapping Female Israeli Hostages on Oct. 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy

Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.