Jason Bellini
A Scripps News visual investigation dives deep into Hamas attack
Scripps News has combed through hundreds of videos showing how the attack unfolded — and it's harrowing.
LEARN MOREPosted: 8:01 p.m. EDT Oct 16, 2023
One of the more than 200 hostages now known to be held hostage by Hamas is being seen and heard for the first time since her abduction — in a video released by the terrorists.
We do not know if she was forced to speak. But we do know the 21-year-old woman was attending a music festival a little more than a week ago when Hamas terrorists invaded, killing hundreds of people and kidnapping others.
In the video, the hostage identifies herself as Mia Shem — a 21-year-old French-Israeli national taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack. She speaks as the sound of air strikes or artillery fire are heard in the background.
Early in the video, we see Shem treated by someone in a white coat and gloves for an obvious arm injury. Speaking in Hebrew, Shem says she underwent three hours of surgery and begs to be returned to her family.
Shem had previously been reported as a hostage after going missing from a music festival on Oct. 7, just three miles from the Gaza border.
The video was released just days after a previous Hamas video showed even younger hostages, including a baby. In that video, a small child is made to repeat "bismillah" — an Arabic blessing — before drinking from a cup.
Hamas claims that Israeli airstrikes have already killed dozens of hostages. Scripps News cannot verify the accuracy of that claim.
The Israel Defense Forces say representatives have been in continuous contact with Shem's family, and IDF says it is deploying all possible measures to bring her and other hostages back home. According to IDF, the video is Hamas' attempt to "present itself as a humanitarian organization while in fact it is a murderous terror group, responsible for the murders and kidnappings of babies, women, children and the elderly."
Hamas is claiming that it, and other groups it's allied with, are holding up to 250 people.
