The photos of female reconnaissance soldiers held in captivity in Gaza were published by their families on Tuesday. "We received the video from a security source. We do not have it. We see the girls sitting in a room and the captor passes with a camera, asking for their names and where they were taken. He repeats himself in several takes," said Sasha Ariev, Karina Ariev's sister.
"You see the girls suffering a lot. Karina specifically; He asks her several times for her name. At a certain point, it's hard for her to answer because her leg is bleeding. We see the image of Ismail Haniyeh behind them. At some point, the girls are forced to give a thumbs up," she added.
Naama Levy, who was also kidnapped from Nahal Oz, does not appear in the video or the photo published by the families tonight. "Naama was not kidnapped together with the girls in the video in the jeep. The photo was taken from the video from the early days. Naama was held alone for a long time. The latest information we received was that she's in the tunnels and she is alive," her family said.
The girls' parents issued a joint statement in which they called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal to release their daughters and the other captives held by Hamas in Gaza for the past 283 days, before his planned visit to the U.S. to address Congress.
Albert, Karina Ariev's father, said in the statement: "I am the father of Sasha and Karina, for whom I live and my heart belongs to them. Since October 7, half of my heart has been kidnapped. You see the image of her and her friends in captivity. It is real, with a bandage on her head and blood. We see blisters in the palm of her hand, which indicates that Karina was shackled for a long time."
"We can no longer hear about a failed deal or the collapse of the government," Albert added. "There are hostages there. Nothing is simple, but together we will cope with whatever comes, but the happiest thing will be to see our captives, our blood. I ask Prime Minister Netanyahu, do not fly abroad before the deal is done. I beg of you."
Ayelet, Naama Levy's mother, said: "The prime minister asked me to join him on his flight to the U.S. I told him I do not feel comfortable joining him until I see that the negotiations are close to completion. The sooner the deal is completed and we rescue the hostages, the sooner I can join, even with her, with Netanyahu's delegation. Until then, I ask, look her in the eyes, this is my daughter. Meet us immediately. Netanyahu, first finalize the deal and then travel, it's not the time for lavish trips."
Shlomi, Agam Berger's father, said: "You see Agam is injured. It's not a physical injury, it's a mental injury that the whole family is going through. The entire family is wounded and broken. Mr. Prime Minister, this is a personal appeal to you as a former commander in the army. The commander needs to be here now, to lead, to close this deal. It's not the time for trips when your presence here is critical, we urgently ask to meet with you before the deal is done."
Orly, Daniella Gilboa's mother, teared up in the parents' statement. "Prime Minister Netanyahu, today I met with the parents of the reconnaissance soldiers who were murdered in Nahal Oz, all of them were Daniella's friends," said her mother. "We are all one family and as such I know that the families turned to you and shared with you the concern that our daughters would join the list of murdered. Our struggle is mutual, the families of the captives, the mourners, and the people of Israel. Prime Minister, meet us before your departure to Congress. If you are going there to speak, it should be a speech about an imminent deal."
Shira, Liri Albag's mother, said: "You all saw the horrible video. Now is the time for action because we are afraid of our daughters' fates and the rest of the hostages. We need to do everything to bring them back, the girls and all the 120 captives."
"We have been informed that the deal has been thwarted. It is time to bring Liri back. Netanyahu, I appeal to you, you promised and now is the time to fulfill that promise. We demand a meeting now, you owe us at least that. First the deal, then travel. We need you here, available to the negotiating team and to sign a deal now. It's not the time for lavish trips, it's time to bring the captives back. We're afraid of the sexual abuse the girls are going through there," said Liri's mother.
'We wonder if she lost hope after so long'
Shai and Roni, Liri's sisters, said they are concerned about her frame of mind. "We searched for the right timing to publish the photos, now we understand that there is no choice but for the government to remember that there are living people there. It's hard to see Liri like this and know that we cannot help her, and it's even harder to know that this has been going on for nine months. The photos are from the first days, we wonder if she lost hope after so long. We understand that there is a real opportunity for a deal."
Amit, Naama Levy's brother, said: "We see she has a black eye in the photo that was taken a few days after October 7. I continue to remind everyone that she has spent nine months with the same frightened look. I recognize her courage, her kindness that maybe manages to strengthen others around her. But there is a limit to what can be dealt with, time passes and because of this we are so stressed."