The Hamas terrorist organization on Tuesday released a video purportedly showing missing Israeli civilian Hisham al-Sayed in a hospital bed and hooked up to an oxygen machine.
The video was published a day after the military wing of Hamas issued an unusual statement on the condition of the Israeli citizens it holds captive, claiming that the medical condition of one them has deteriorated.
Al-Sayed, a Bedouin citizen of Israel, has been held by Hamas since he wandered into Gaza in 2015. Hamas has also held another Israeli citizen, Avera Mengistu, since 2014. Both men suffer from mental illness.
Hamas has also been holding the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
Hamas has attempted to create the impression that Goldin and Shaul are still alive in order to secure a more favorable prisoner exchange with Israel. A recent article in the Hamas-run newspaper 'Palestine' claimed that Shaul was bound to a wheelchair and that Goldin was in good health.
An Israeli security source said in response that there Israel has no information about a change in the health of the prisoners held by Hamas. He added that this appeared to be an attempted psychological warfare by the terrorist organization
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Monday night that Israel holds Hamas responsible for the condition of the Israeli citizens held in Gaza.
"Hamas proves again tonight that it is a cynical and criminal terrorist organization, which holds mentally ill civilians in violation of all international conventions and laws, as well as the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers. Hamas is the one responsible for the situation of the captive civilians," Bennett said,
"The State of Israel will continue its efforts, mediated by Egypt, to restore the captives and the missing, with responsibility and determination," he added.