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Mother of Israeli woman in first Hamas hostage video pleads for captives’ release
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Keren Sherf Shem, whose daughter Mia is among those taken hostage by Hamas in Gaza, expressed both relief and profound concern after a video featuring her daughter was released by the terrorist group on Monday.
“I was overjoyed to see her alive,” Keren Shem told journalists on Tuesday in Tel Aviv. “But I’m very worried about her, I know that she needs medical care and I know about other health problems and that’s the thing that I’m thinking about all the time. Every moment is risking her life.”
Shem’s comments came during a briefing held by the Hostages and Missing Persons Forum, a group that has organized to press for the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The video, which Hamas titled “Taking care of one of the hostages,” features the 21-year-old Mia, who also holds French citizenship, receiving treatment for an injury to her arm before subsequently addressing the camera directly.
“I’m being cared for, I’m getting medications. I’m only asking to be returned home immediately, to my family,” she said in the video.
The video is widely understood as a move of psychological warfare at a time when Israel is preparing to invade Gaza. Hamas has reportedly offered to release “foreign” hostages if Israel stops bombing in Gaza, according to NBC News; it was not clear whether the offer, which Israel has not indicated it is considering, would apply to dual nationals such as Shem. There are also a number of foreign workers, including from Thailand and Nepal, known to have been taken hostage.
In all, Israel says it has notified the families of 199 hostages that their loved ones are in Gaza. Hamas says other groups operating in the territory are holding about 50 additional people.
The video, which Hamas released on Monday, marked the first proof of life for any hostage since the day of the attack. But the New York Times reported that an examination of the video file’s metadata suggested that some of the footage was captured at least six days prior.
“She looked very terrified,” Keren Shem said. “I can see that she is saying what they tell her to say, but I can see that she’s stable. I didn’t know that she is dead or alive until yesterday.”
Shem said she had cycled through many emotions since viewing the video.
“I started to shout, I fell to the floor and to scream, I didn’t even know what to think, I saw my baby and then we started to sing and to cry, ‘Wow! She’s alive!’ We were so happy, and then I started to feel scared. It was a rollercoaster. It still is.”
The press briefing, which took place in both Hebrew and English, was also attended by the head of the Shin Bet security agency head Yaakov Perry, and Hagai Levine, head of the medical team, both of whom are working with the families of the hostages.
Some relatives of hostages have criticized the Israeli government for not publicly taking more aggressive steps to rescue their loved ones. Answering a journalist about the Israeli government’s role in the aftermath of the attack, Keren Shem said she was optimistic.
“I’m confident that Israel will do all they can to bring Israel home,” she said.
Shem said she was appealing to the international community to advocate for the Israeli hostages.
“I am begging the world to bring my baby back home. She only went to a party to have some fun and now she’s in Gaza and she’s not the only one,” she said. “There are many children, and babies and Holocaust survivors that were kidnapped and their houses were burned. This is a crime against humanity and we should all gather and stop this terror and bring everybody back home.”
To her daughter, Shem delivered a different message, even as she could not be certain that Mia would hear it.
“My message to my daughter is that I love her so much and I miss her so much,” she said. “All these days I just thought about hugging her when she comes home and that’s what keeps me strong and focused.”
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The post Mother of Israeli woman in first Hamas hostage video pleads for captives’ release appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week
Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.