In threat, Hamas releases video said to show captive Israeli
Associated PressJERUSALEM — The Palestinian militant group Hamas released a video Monday of an Israeli it said was being held captive in the Gaza Strip, rare footage it described as a warning to Israel’s new army chief. Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, shared the video, which purportedly showed Israeli prisoner Avera Mengistu calling on the Israeli military to secure his freedom. In a statement accompanying the footage, the militant group warned Halevi that he would “bear the burden” of his predecessor’s failure to free Israeli captives held in the Palestinian enclave. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, and other leaders in the Israeli security establishment have rebuked plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to divide the military’s authority over the occupied West Bank.