Hamas releases sick hostage video of crying Israeli woman, 19, held captive in Gaza for 450 days pleading for her life – as her family begs for her to ‘stay strong’ and for the IDF to rescue her
Hamas has released a sickening hostage video of the youngest female Israeli still held in Gaza, more than 450 days since she was brutally kidnapped.
Liri Albag, 19, is seen shaking and crying as she is forced to beg her government to save her in a sadistic three-and-a-half minute clip.
She breaks down as she tells how some held with her were ‘severely injured’ and says she had ‘looked death in the face’.
She makes a direct plea to Defense Minister Israel Katz, saying, “You know my father. Look him in the eye and tell him that he and my mother don’t deserve to hug their daughter.
“Look at them and tell them if you have the courage.”
She then turns to her parents, Shira and Eli, and her siblings, telling them, “I love you so much. I miss you endlessly.’
While her distraught family asked that the full video not be shared, they agreed to release two still images to increase pressure to reach a deal.
In a statement they said: ‘Today’s video has torn our hearts into pieces. This is not the daughter and sister we know. She is not doing well; her severe psychological distress is evident.
Hamas has released a sickening hostage video of Liri Albag, who remains held in Gaza more than 450 days after her brutal kidnapping
In the video, 19-year-old Albag can be seen in tears
‘We saw how our heroic Liri survived and pleaded for her life. She is only tens of kilometers away from us, yet we have not been able to bring her home for 456 days.
“We appeal to the Prime Minister, world leaders and all decision makers: it is time to make decisions as if your own children were there.
‘Liri is alive and must return alive. This only depends on you. You shouldn’t miss this current opportunity to bring them back. All.
In addition to this statement, Liri’s parents also released a heartbreaking video call this afternoon in which they spoke directly to their daughter.
Liri’s mother Shira said: ‘I want to say to Liri, when she sees this: Liri, we fight for you, we won’t give up on you, and you will come home alive.
‘You’ll be back. Yes, it’s hard there and yes, you suffer, but you come home alive.
“Mommy promises you, Mommy and Daddy promise you, and we keep our promises – it will happen soon, God willing, it will happen soon.
‘Believe in this, we won’t give up, don’t you give up either, keep fighting and surviving. You are strong and you are capable. We are here fighting for you. I love you so much and miss you terribly and am waiting to hug you.”
The 19-year-old’s father, Eli, followed: “Liri, if you hear us, tell the others that all families move heaven and earth and want their children home, and we will fight until all the hostages are returned – the living for rehabilitation and the murdered and fallen for a proper burial in Israel.
‘Tell the others: stay strong. It won’t be long before there will be a deal.”
Liri (pictured in blue) was also featured in another Hamas hostage video last year
Pictured alongside other hostages, the group of young Israeli women appeared to have been injured by their captors
Liri pictured next to Agam Berger with their hands tied behind their backs as they sit on the floor
Liri was completing her mandatory military service as an unarmed border monitor when she was abducted from the Nahal Oz base on October 7.
Footage from that day showed her cowering in fear, sitting in pools of blood, as her captors called her and her comrades “mean dogs” and “Sabaya” – an ancient Islamic term that can mean female sex slave.
She was taken along with fellow teenage border guards Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa, Agam Berger and Karina Ariev.
The Mail fought to increase the escape of Gaza’s youngest female prisoners and our powerful article with before and after photos of them was taken to the UN and The Hague.
In a heartbreaking interview to mark the anniversary on October 7 last year, Liri’s mother Shira, 52, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I know which child they took, but I don’t know which child I will get back after one time. year.
‘I know Liri is a strong girl. But now… in my heart I feel that she has become weak – and I don’t know how to help her become stronger.’
She told how she tried to enter Gaza herself and was left so distraught that when she had no meetings, her day consisted of ‘just staying at home in bed, crying’.
Negotiations are underway in Doha for a ceasefire to end the bloodshed in exchange for hostages. Liri is expected to be among the first to be released.
Liri’s relatives today called for her release during a protest in Tel Aviv
Eli Albag, Liri’s father, holds up two images, one of his daughter before the war and one of her in Hamas captivity
President-elect Donald Trump has said there will be “hell to pay” if they are not returned before he takes office in just over two weeks.
A spokesperson for the hostages forum, which is supporting the families, said: ‘There are 16 days left until President-elect Trump’s ultimatum. We must not lose this historic opportunity.
“It is time for our Prime Minister and other world leaders to take courageous action and bring Liri and all the hostages home.”
Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages in the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust on October 7, 2023. Nearly 100 prisoners remain in Gaza, although at least 33 have been killed.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, the IDF has killed 45,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023, but Israel claims about half of the fatalities are terrorists.