Hamas armed wing releases video of apparently injured Israeli captive

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Saturday showing what appeared to be an Israeli captive injured in a strike on Gaza.

Israeli media identified the captive as Maxim Herkin.

In the undated four-minute video, the captive, wearing bandages on his head and left arm and identifying himself only as "Prisoner 24", spoke in Hebrew with a Russian accent, implying he had been wounded in a recent Israeli bombardment.

The man, shown lying on the ground, also referred to Israel's 'Independence Day' celebrations on Thursday as upcoming, suggesting that the video was filmed shortly beforehand.

He gave a similar message to other captives shown in videos released by the group, urging pressure on the Israeli government to free those still held in Gaza.

The group in the territory still hold 58 captives seized in the 7 October attacks. The army says 34 of them are dead.

A ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas came into force on 19 January, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting. However, Israel resumed its war across Gaza on 18 March amid deadlock over next steps in the ceasefire.

Since the end of the truce, Hamas has released several videos of captives. The latest images come from efforts by mediators to broker a new ceasefire that have stalled.