Islamic Jihad group in Gaza ready to free two Israeli hostages

The armed wing of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in Gaza released a video on Thursday showing an elderly woman and a young boy who were among around 240 hostages seized by militant gunmen who attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

It said it was prepared to release the two for humanitarian and medical reasons once appropriate conditions were met. It did not give further details.

A video which Palestinian militants said shows two hostages in Gaza was slammed Thursday as “psychological terrorism” by Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht.

Israel described videos released by Palestinian militants on Thursday of two hostages held in Gaza as an important sign of life, but declined to be drawn on whether they would be released, saying that would be to play into the captors’ “psychological warfare.”

“This is a sign of life, and it is important,” chief Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said when asked about the elderly woman and the boy held by Islamic Jihad.

“I will, for the moment, ignore the question of their release … We will be the first to update the families before anything happens.”

Gaza-based Palestinian militants seized the hostages during an assault on southern Israeli communities that killed some 1,400 Israelis and foreigners, the Israeli military has said.

The vast majority are believed to be in the hands of Hamas, but Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group in Gaza that is allied to the territory’s ruling movement, has said previously it held at least 30 captives.

In the video, the elderly woman said she missed her children. “I hope I will manage to see you next week. We are happy and healthy and we want everyone to be happy,” she said, seated in a wheelchair.

The video is the third film of hostages to be released by Gaza militants, who have so far freed four captives – the last couple a pair of 85-year-old women who returned to Israel on Oct. 23.