Israeli captive: “Netanyahu’s military ops in Gaza will eventually lead to my death"

The military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement, Saraya al-Quds Brigades, released a video message of an Israeli captive held by the brigades in the Gaza strip on Wednesday, November 13.

The captive blamed Netanyahu’s government for the miserable living conditions they have experienced due to the continuous blockade imposed on the besieged strip by Israel, which has also affected the captives.

“My name is Alexander Trupanov, I am 28 years old. I have been held captive by the Mujahideen of the Islamic Jihad for one year. A year, during which we have suffered lack of food, drink and electricity, and currently we are suffering a scarcity in our essential needs of soap and shampoo. I have developed skin diseases that I never suffered from before, due to this situation,” Trupanov said.

“I would like to remind the citizens of Israel, when you eat or drink something you have to remember us, the captives, because we do not have the opportunity to enjoy the food and drink that you consume. I want you to think about us when you close the border crossing to cause a hardship to the Palestinian people in Gaza; causing a hardship to them means causing a hardship to us,” the Israeli captive added.

Trupanov held Netanyahu’s government accountable for the death of many Israeli captives in the Gaza strip in airstrikes and military operations launched by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).

He also clarified that he has frequently been in danger, throughout over a year of aggression, due to the military operations carried out by IOF to supposedly free the Israeli captives from Gaza. Trupanov also asserted that the fighters of Islamic Jihad saved his life multiple times. He said that some of these fighters sustained injuries, while others were killed while trying to save his life, and that his life has been exposed to an imminent risk on a daily basis.

“The military operations, which Netanyahu has chosen, will eventually lead to my death. I want to tell you that I began to fear our army. I am afraid of the moment at which the army will reach me, or the moment at which they will strike the place where I am held. The number of captives who were killed in this war is not small, it is a big number. Only a few were released by military operations. The only good thing they did for the captives was the first ceasefire deal,” Trupanov said.

Moreover, Trupanov accused the Israeli government of expanding the war with Lebanon, so the Israeli people would forget the issue of the captives, and to provoke a war with Iran. He pointed out that his government’s deeds “will end up in burying the captives deep under the ground.”

Additionally, Trupanov urged the people of Israel to take to the streets, although they have organized demonstrations every Saturday for more than one year, without having their demands for a captives-for-prisoners deal being met. The Israeli captive called on his people to further escalate demonstrations, block the roads for a long period of time, and to organize prolonged comprehensive strikes. He also implored the Israeli people to do whatever they can do, so the captives would return alive and in good health. Trupanov asserted that the captives’ return will be possible by exerting pressure on the Israeli government.

It is worth noting that the Islamic Jihad released the video, a couple of days after Qatar announced that it was stalling its mediation efforts in the ceasefire talks until the concerned parties show “willingness and seriousness” to end the war. Qatar’s step has been interpreted as a matter of exerting pressure on Hamas upon a reported request of the Biden’s administration.

The release of the video at this specific timing, is seen as reaction by the Palestinian resistance groups in the Gaza strip to the suspension of Qatar’s mediation. Perhaps, the Islamic Jihad wanted to deliver a message to Israel and the US through the captive’s televised message, that only a permanent ceasefire and captives-for-prisoners deal will end the war.

The resistance movement may also wanted to remind Israel and the US that not all Israeli captives are held by Hamas, but also by other resistance groups or “components” as the spokesperson of Hamas’s military wing Abu Obeida stated at the beginning of the aggression. The video also shows the unity of the Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza, and their united position in rejecting to end the war through unfair compromises, but through ending the Israeli aggression and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The timing of the video is also important, as the amount of aid entering Gaza has dropped to the lowest level in eleven months, pushing Gaza to the edge of starvation and serious health crisis.

The US had issued an ultimatum on October 13, warning Israel that it should allow the access of more humanitarian supplies to Gaza within 30 days, otherwise it would withhold arms supplies to the Zionist state.

On Tuesday, November 12, the deadline given to Israel ended and media reports indicated that the agreed upon amount of aid was not allowed to enter the besieged enclave. Nevertheless, the US announced on Tuesday that it will not restrict arms transfer to Israel after the deadline was exceeded, as it is still assessing the improvement of the situation in Gaza based on the steps already implemented by Israel, and additional steps yet to be taken.

The Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State Vedant Patel said on Tuesday: “We, at this time, have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of US law.” Patel’s statement confirms again that the US is able to stop the genocide and the grave humanitarian crisis in the region, but refuses to stop the arms shipments which enable Israel’s crimes.