Hamas has released a video of an Israeli citizen held captive since 2015, showing the man lying on a hospital bed with an an oxygen mask.
The footage of Hisham al-Sayed, who is part of Israel's Bedouin Arab minority, is the first time he has been seen since he crossed the border from southern Israel into Gaza in 2015.
The release of the footage on Tuesday afternoon comes just a day after Hamas said that the condition of one of the two Israelis believed to be being held captive by the terrorist group had deteriorated.
Al-Sayed, age 34, is seen in the footage to be lying on a bed with an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. An oxygen tank is also visible next to the bed.
Hamas has released a video of Israeli citizen Hisham al-Sayed, held captive since 2015.
— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) June 28, 2022
It comes a day after the terrorist group said the condition of one of the two Israelis it is holding captive had deteriorated. pic.twitter.com/1wlMSL2jVc
He appears to be tired and dazed, and an intravenous drip can be seen nearby, as well as his Israeli identification card. The is no audio in the video, and al-Sayed is not seen to be speaking.
The date that the footage was captured in unconfirmed, but a television screen in the video shows images of the Qatar Economic Forum, held in Doha last week.
Rights groups say that al-Sayed, as well as another Israeli believed to be being held captive, suffer from mental illness. Hamas has not given any details on where its prisoners are held, their conditions, and the Red Cross has never been allowed to visit them.
The footage is the first time that al-Sayed's family has seen him since he captured seven years ago, leading them to fear that their son had died in captivity.
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Sha'aban al-Saayed, father of Hisham, a Bedouin Muslim Arab with Israeli citizenship without any apparent connection to the Israeli authorities who disappeared a year beforehand from his home in the Negev desert in Israel, shows a photo of his son at their family home in the southern Israeli town of Hura on April 13, 2016. Photo by Yoav Lemmer/AFP via Getty Images)
Sha’aban al-Sayed, his father, told Israel's Channel 12: “This is the first time I see his face in seven years. It helped put us at ease. He used to take medications and I hope they give him them."
He appealed to Hamas, saying: “Release him immediately. He’s sick and needs medical care at all times.”
In a statement, Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett condemned the release of the video, saying that Hamas was holding two mentally ill people "against all international law".
His office added: "Issuing a video of a sick person is a despicable and desperate act.
"Hisham al-Sayed is not a soldier, but a mentally ill Israeli citizen who crossed the border into the Gaza Strip.
“The actions of Hamas are proof that it is a cynical terror and criminal organisation," the statement concluded.
