Hamas releases video of hostage as family pleads for his return

Hamas released a video on Wednesday of 48-year-old Israeli hostage Omri Miran, who has been held in the Gaza Strip for a year and a half.

"Our Omri is strong and will not break, but our hearts are broken,” his family said in a statement issued through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

"We will not give up. We will continue to fight until Omri returns to us, especially to his two daughters, who are waiting with all their hearts to hold him again."

The statement condemned the timing of the video's release, noting it came on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“When we say 'Never Again,' an Israeli citizen cries out for help from Hamas' tunnels. It is a moral failure for the State of Israel,” the family said.

Miran's family has allowed the media to use a still photo from the footage, but not the video itself.

Israeli authorities believe 24 hostages are still alive in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas and its allies hold the bodies of 35 others.

In recent weeks, Hamas and other militant groups have published a growing number of videos featuring hostages, many of whom appear visibly distressed and plead for their release.

Israeli authorities accuse Hamas of engaging in psychological warfare and calls the videos propaganda material.