Hamas releases video of French-Israeli hostages kidnapped at music festival

The family of the young woman confirmed that it was Mia Scam who was abducted in the early hours of Saturday, October 7. She claims that her arm was injured and that she was treated well by her captors.

A rare sign of life. On Monday, Hamas, which carried out terrorist attacks on Israeli soil on October 7, released a video of one of the hostages taken that day. In it, the woman, who is being treated on her arm by an unidentified medical worker, has identified herself as 21-year-old Mia Schem. She asks him to return to his family as soon as possible.

“Please get me out of here quickly,” she told the camera, making sure she was treated well by her captors.

A representative of the family, part of a group of French-Israeli families who called on President Emmanuel Macron to help free their loved ones, confirmed their identity to Reuters.

nearby France 24, her mother, Keren Schem, explains that the young woman was abducted at a music festival targeted by Hamas in the early hours of the attack. Without further ado, she sent a message to her friend.

“They are shooting at us, please come and save us!” she wrote.

Speaking to our colleagues at RMC, Mia’s mother, Keren Schem, says she is “hugely relieved” to have seen the video, but worries about the future.

“I am begging the world to bring my child home. We cannot rest until all citizens return home. They should not be in Gaza,” she adds.

199 hostages

The Israeli military called Hamas a “deadly terrorist organization” and said in a statement that it was in constant contact with the Schem family. She adds to use “all information and all operational measures” to get the hostages back.

At least 199 Israelis and foreign nationals have been captured by Hamas militants and held hostage since the Islamist group’s attacks killed 1,300 people.

In a video message broadcast on Monday, a spokesman for the Al Qassam Brigades identified a group of “prisoners from different nationalities” as “guests”. “We are trying to protect them,” Abou Obeida added, promising that the non-Israelis would be released “when the conditions on the ground allow.”