The Hamas terrorist organization on Monday published the first documentation of Israeli citizen Avera Mengistu, who has been held by Hamas since he entered the Gaza Strip in 2014.
In the video, Mengistu is heard saying: "I am the prisoner Avera Mengistu, how long will I be here? Me and my friends are in captivity after long years. Where is the state and the people of Israel to free us?"
The video was published by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, just a few hours after Major General Herzi Halevi was inducted as the new IDF Chief of Staff.
The video begins with captions stating: "The al-Qassam Brigades emphasize the failure of the outgoing Chief of Staff "Kohavi" and his establishment, and his lie to his people and government with imaginary and delusional achievements. The incoming Chief of Staff "Halevi" should prepare himself to bear the burden of this failure and its consequences."
Yalo Mengistu, Avera's brother, said in response to the video: "My heart says it's him but my head is still not sure. On the one hand it looks like him, on the other hand it doesn't look like him."
In June 2022, Hamas released a video purportedly showing another Israeli civilian it is holding captive, Hisham al-Sayed, in a hospital bed and hooked up to an oxygen machine.