Hamas Releases Video Showing Israeli Hostage Marking His Birthday

File photo of Hamas members escorting a now-released hostage on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)
File photo of Hamas members escorting a now-released hostage on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)
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Hamas Releases Video Showing Israeli Hostage Marking His Birthday

File photo of Hamas members escorting a now-released hostage on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)
File photo of Hamas members escorting a now-released hostage on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (AFP)

Hamas's armed wing released a video showing an Israeli-Hungarian hostage walking through a tunnel in Gaza and lighting a candle to mark his birthday.

In the nearly three-minute clip published by the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the hostage -- who identifies himself as Omri Miran -- addresses the camera in Hebrew.

His family confirmed his identity in a statement issued through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, while requesting that the media refrain from publishing the footage.

AFP was unable to verify when the footage was recorded, but in it, Miran says he is marking his 48th birthday, which fell on April 11.

He is initially shown walking through a tunnel, then seated on a mattress in a confined space, acknowledging protesters in Israel who have been demonstrating against the government and demanding the hostages' release.

He states that hostages are living in constant fear of bombings and urges a deal be reached as soon as possible to secure their release, adding that he missed his wife and daughters.

"On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, when we say 'never again,' an Israeli citizen cries out for help from Hamas's tunnels," his family said in a statement.

"It is a moral failure for the state of Israel. Our Omri is strong and will not break, but our hearts are broken," the family added.

"We will continue to fight until Omri returns to us, and especially to his two daughters who are waiting with all their hearts to hold him again."

He previously appeared in an undated video released by Hamas on April 27, 2024.

In that footage he urged his family to pressure the Israeli government to strike a deal with Hamas on freeing the hostages.

During their attack on October 7, Hamas militants abducted 251 hostages and took them to Gaza. Of those, 58 are still being held there, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.



Israeli Gunfire Hits Perimeter of UN Peacekeeping Post in Lebanon, UNIFIL Says

A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Israeli Gunfire Hits Perimeter of UN Peacekeeping Post in Lebanon, UNIFIL Says

A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Wednesday that direct fire from the Israeli army had hit the perimeter of one of its peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon.

In a statement, UNIFIL said the incident on Tuesday was the first of its kind since Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the incident, in which UNIFIL said one of its bases in the village of Kfar Shouba in southern Lebanon was hit.

"In recent days, UNIFIL has also observed other aggressive behavior by the Israeli military towards peacekeepers performing operational activities in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701," it said, referring to a UN resolution originally adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Tuesday's incident occurred near the Blue Line, a UN-mapped demarcation separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Any unauthorized crossing of the Blue Line by land or by air from any side constitutes a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

UNIFIL cited other alleged incidents it blamed on the Israeli army, including being targeted by lasers while it was performing a patrol with the Lebanese army in the southern border town of Maroun al-Ras on Tuesday.

Israel has continued to occasionally strike areas in south Lebanon, saying that it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. It has also struck the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut several times.

The ceasefire terms require that neither Hezbollah nor any other armed group have weapons in areas near the border south of the Litani River, which flows into the Mediterranean some 20 km (12 miles) north of the Israeli border.

They require Israel to withdraw troops from the south and that the Lebanese army deploy into the border region.

Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of failing to fully implement the deal. Israel still occupies five hilltop positions in the south. Rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards Israel twice, though Hezbollah denied any role.

Israel killed thousands of Hezbollah fighters in the war, destroyed much of its arsenal and eliminated its top leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah.

The war spiraled after Hezbollah opened fire at the beginning of the Gaza war, declaring solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas.