Hamas releases video of Israeli-American hostage before her death and calls for prisoner exchange

Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Thursday showing an Israeli-American hostage calling on the U.S. president and secretary of state to end the war in Gaza and secure his release through a prisoner exchange.

“I ask you, President Joe Biden and Antony Blinken, and all my fellow Americans, citizens – to do everything in your power to stop the war, to end this madness, and to bring me home now,” says Hersh Goldberg-Polin in his final message.

The date of the photo was not given. Goldberg-Polin was later killed in Israeli air strikes.

The release of the video followed increased protests in Israel, particularly among the families of the hostages, after the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six people – including Goldberg-Polin – from a tunnel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip earlier this week.

In the recording, Goldberg-Polin described the difficult conditions he faced in captivity and spoke of a lack of medical care, food and water.

“The worst thing is that my own country, Israel, is trying to bomb me non-stop,” he added, expressing frustration with Israel's military response and perceived failure in its efforts to secure his release.

Israeli media reported that three of the hostages were part of a possible exchange deal two months ago, but the negotiations were postponed due to new conditions imposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Al-Qassam Brigades ended the video by warning that further military action by Israel would lead to “death and failure” and reiterated that only a hostage exchange could secure the release of the prisoners.

Israel currently holds at least 9,500 Palestinian prisoners, while Hamas estimates that there are 101 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip. Many of these prisoners were reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes.

The death of Goldberg-Polin and other hostages has drawn criticism of Netanyahu, with opposition figures and their families accusing him of delaying negotiations to avoid political consequences. Netanyahu's stance has led to a lengthy deadlock in reaching a prisoner exchange agreement, according to his critics.

For months, mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to broker a ceasefire and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, but those efforts have stalled because Israel refuses to comply with Hamas's demand for an end to the war.

Since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, the conflict has claimed the lives of nearly 40,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza health authorities, and more than 94,000 have been injured. The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, water and medicine, plunging the region into a humanitarian crisis.

Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip have sparked international accusations of genocide; the International Court of Justice is currently examining the case.