Hamas begins propaganda campaign with 1st video recording of Israeli hostage

The Hamas terror organization on Monday evening published, for the first time, a video showing one of the roughly 200 Israeli hostages it captured during the invasion and brutal attack in Israel towns on Oct. 7.

The video shows 21-year-old Mia Schem from Shoham, who was captured while taking part in the rave music festival near Kibbutz Re’im. Hamas terrorists killed around 260 Israelis and foreign citizens at the event and took an unknown number as hostages.

The Schem family was notified of their daughter's abduction last week by Israel Defense Forces representatives, who continue to be in contact with the family, the IDF stated.

“In the video, Hamas tries to present itself as a humanitarian organization, while it is a murderous terrorist organization, responsible for the murders and kidnappings of babies, women, children and the elderly,” the IDF stated after releasing the video.

In the short clip, Schem is seen being treated for an arm injury, before explaining that she underwent surgery and received medicine, and asking to be returned home to her family.

The video was released on the Hamas Telegram channel, accompanied by the caption: “Mujahideen [jihad fighters] from the Al-Qassam Brigades provide medical care to a female prisoner in Gaza, who was captured on the first day of the Al-Aqsa storm battle.”

Schem is a dual Israeli-French citizen, which might be the reason Hamas chose to film her, as the terror organization is trying to convince the world it is not harming foreign citizens.

French President Emmanuel Macron, "denounces the disgrace of the kidnapping of innocents and their despicable staging," his office said about the video. "He calls for her immediate and unconditional release."

Hamas accompanied the release of the video with statements by two spokespersons, who claimed that the terror organization wanted to release the foreign hostages but was prevented from doing so due to Israel's military attacks on Gaza.

Shortly before the release of the video, Hamas spokesman Abu Ubayda claimed that between 200-250 hostages are being held in the Gaza Strip, with Hamas holding around 200 and the rest being held captive by other “resistance factions.”

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organization last week claimed to have captured about 30 hostages.

Ubayda added that the foreign hostages were “guests” of Hamas and would be released as soon as a pause in the Israeli airstrikes will allow for it.

He also reiterated the claim that several hostages had died in Israeli airstrikes.

Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk also claimed that Hamas is interested in releasing foreign hostages.

“If there is a ceasefire and the Israeli attacks stop, we have no interest in keeping the foreign hostages,” Abu Marzouk said Monday.

“This is psychological terrorism by Hamas,” IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said about the video.

“Hamas is trying to present itself as a humane organization, but it is a murderous organization. Everyone should ask themselves: 'How did Mia get to Gaza in the first place? We must never forget that the organization murdered children, women, old men and babies and kidnapped them to Gaza,” Hagari added.

Israel's Channel 14, seen as conservative and right-leaning, announced that it wouldn't publish materials released by Hamas and called on other Israeli media to do the same.

"Channel 14 will not stage or broadcast videos and propaganda materials coming from the creative house of the Nazi oppressor known as 'Hamas.' We call on all the media in Israel to unite and not to broadcast propaganda materials of the enemy, whose purpose is to harm the people of Israel in times of war," the channel said in a statement.