Gaza agitation The rulers released a video clip of a captive Israeli citizen who has been held incommunicado since 2015, showing the man lying on a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask.
This was the first photo of Hisham al-Sayed released since he wandered across the border from southern Israel to Gaza. His release came a day after Hamas announced that the condition of one of the Israelis it was holding had deteriorated.
In the video, Syed, 34, is seen lying in bed with a mask over his mouth and nose and what appears to be an oxygen canister next to him. He appears tired and dizzy. He does not speak or sound.
Other parts of the video show a drip into a vein next to the bed as well as a picture of Syed’s Israeli ID card. Al-Sayed is a member of the Bedouin Arab minority in Israel.
The title of the video was “Snapshots of the soldier in the occupation army, Hisham Sayed, who is detained by the Al-Qassam Brigades.” It is not dated, but a TV screen in the video shows pictures of the Qatar Economic Forum held in Doha last week.
Sid is one of two Israeli civilians believed to be in custody agitation. Rights groups say both suffer from mental illness. The Islamist militant group did not provide any details about the conditions or whereabouts of its prisoners and did not allow the Red Cross to visit them.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the video’s release and said Hamas was holding two mentally ill people against “all international laws”.
“Posting a video of a patient is an abhorrent and desperate act,” his office said in a statement.
She described Saeed as a civilian suffering from mental illness who crossed the border into the interior Gaza Several times previously. “Hamas’ actions are evidence that it is a cunning terrorism and a criminal organization,” the statement said, adding that the video delayed any chance of reaching an agreement.
Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including people convicted of deadly attacks, in exchange for the Israeli prisoners.
Israel and Hamas are archenemy. They have fought four wars and dozens of small skirmishes since Hamas took control of Gaza 15 years ago.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a tight blockade on the Strip ever since. Israel says the closure is necessary to prevent Hamas from building up its military capabilities, but critics say the policy amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s two million Palestinian residents.
Israel says there can be no major steps to lift the blockade until the remains of soldiers and civilian prisoners are released.
Bennett’s office said Israel would continue to work through Egyptian mediation to release the prisoners.
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