Daijiworld Media Network – Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Aug 1: The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group on Thursday released a fresh video of Israeli-German hostage Rom Braslavski, who was abducted during the October 2023 terror attack at the Nova music festival, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.

In the footage, Braslavski, 21, lies pale and frail on the ground, identifies himself, and begs the Israeli government to secure his release. The video also shows him watching news about the Gaza hunger crisis.

This is the second such video of Braslavski released by the terror group, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the US and EU. The earlier video, released on April 16, showed him complaining of a severe illness and appealing to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for help.

Before being taken hostage, Braslavski, a security agent at the Nova festival, reportedly helped rescue several attendees.

Reacting to the latest video, his family stated, “They managed to break Rom. Even the strongest person has a breaking point.” They urged urgent efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages.

Of the 251 people abducted during the attack, the Israeli military says 49 remain in Gaza, including 27 who are believed to be dead. The military only allows public release of hostage videos with family consent.

“Everyone talks about hunger in Gaza, but did you see our Rom? He is starved and denied medicine,” the family said through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “He is simply forgotten there.”

While Israel’s war against Hamas continues, a truce between January and March this year enabled the return of 33 hostages—eight of them dead—in exchange for around 1,800 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Several other hostages were freed under a previous truce in 2023.