Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday responded to the publication of a video featuring Israeli captive Avera Mengistu by the Hamas terrorist organization.
"Israel does not stop its efforts to return Avera Mengistu and the rest of our captives and missing people," Netanyahu said during a visit to the Shabak's Samaria region.
"Yesterday we received further confirmation of what we knew all along - that Avera is alive. This is a young man who is not fully healthy, and the responsibility for his fate rests entirely in the hands of Hamas," he added.
Avera Mengistu has been held captive by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza since 2014.
In the video released yesterday, 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."