Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday that Hamas captive Avera Mengistu is alive, a day after the Palestinian terrorist group released a video purportedly of him.
“Israel has not stopped efforts to return Avera Mengistu and the rest of our captives and missing people,” Netanyahu said after meeting with members of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) in Judea and Samaria.
“Yesterday, we received further confirmation of what we knew all along—that Avera is alive. This is a young man who is not fully healthy, and the responsibility for his fate rests entirely in the hands of Hamas,” he added.
Hamas on Monday released an undated video purportedly of Mengistu, who crossed into the Gaza Strip on his own accord in 2014.
“I am the prisoner Avera Mengistu. How long will I remain a captive here, I and my comrades, after the long and painful years?” says the individual in the video.