Hamas releases two Israeli women held hostage
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Transcript
00:00 In this footage shared by Hamas, two Israeli hostages, Yoheved Lifshitz and Nurek Cooper,
00:06 are being released, more than two weeks after Hamas' bloody rampage on civilians in Israel.
00:12 They are fed and escorted by two armed and masked fighters to the International Red Cross.
00:17 The images appear staged and intended to show that the hostages held by Hamas
00:22 are not being mistreated, with Hamas citing urgent humanitarian reasons for the release.
00:28 It's okay, let's go.
00:29 It's okay?
00:30 Let's go.
00:30 Yes.
00:31 You go with this one?
00:33 The two women were taken to the Rafa border crossing and transported via helicopter to
00:40 a hospital in Tel Aviv. Once there, they were reunited with their loved ones.
00:45 We received the two hostages. We were very excited, they look okay,
00:50 their medical condition is okay and they're speaking.
00:55 Three days ago, two Israeli-American hostages were released by Hamas.
00:59 In both cases, mediation by Qatar and Egypt played a key role.
01:04 From Qatar, this Hamas leader set out conditions for the release of the remaining hostages.
01:09 If Netanyahu is also looking after their safety, if the Europeans and the Americans are resolutely
01:15 on their side, then let them force Israel to stop its aggression, its genocide and all its
01:21 brutal war crimes committed every day. For the Israeli government, these releases
01:26 are the result of military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas.
01:30 Our understanding is Hamas is not releasing these people because suddenly they became
01:35 humanitarian. They're bloodthirsty killers and if they are releasing people, it's because they're
01:39 being compelled to do so by the pressure we're placing upon them. And as that pressure increases,
01:44 I believe, you'll get more people out. While Israel continues its bombardment of
01:49 the enclave, the United States is reportedly asking to delay the ground offensive into Gaza
01:55 so that it can negotiate new agreements for the release of civilians.