Hamas releases video clip of hostage Mia Schem
Mother of Israeli captive Mia Schem said she saw the release of Hamas footage of her daughter as “an optimistic sign” for all the hostages in Gaza.
“All I ask for from world leaders is to bring my baby home in the same condition as she was in the footage posted... we need to bring all our captives home.”
“This heinous terror attack happened in Israel, tomorrow it will happen in France and the United States... it’s a crime against humanity,” said Keren Schem.
Hamas released the video of a hostage on their Telegram channel on Monday. The video shows a young woman’s arm being bandaged.
In the video, she says she was badly hurt and has been receiving medical treatment.
“Hi, I’m Mia Schem, 21 years old from Shoham. Currently, I’m in Gaza. I returned early Saturday morning from Sderot; I was at a party. I was seriously injured in my hand. I underwent surgery on my hand at the hospital [in Gaza] for three hours. They are taking care of me, giving me medicine, everything is fine. I only ask that they bring me home as soon as possible to my parents, to my siblings. Get me out of here as soon as possible. Please.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that Mia’s family had been notified that she had been kidnapped last week and that IDF representatives were in contact with her.
“The IDF is operating with all intelligence and operational means for the return of the hostages,” said the IDF. “In the video, Hamas tries to present itself as a humanitarian organization while it is a murderous terrorist organization, responsible for the murders and kidnappings of babies, women, children, and the elderly.”
On Hamas’s Telegram channel, the video is accompanied by the caption, “Mujahideen from the [Izzadin] al-Qassam Brigades provide medical care to a female prisoner in Gaza, who was captured on the first day of the al-Aqsa Flood battle.”
A post on X, formerly Twitter, from Israel’s Army Radio includes a photo of Schem.
“From the second the reports started I called her cell phone,” Army Radio quotes Mia’s mother, as saying. “And the phone has been ringing for hours, but there’s no answer. I demand to know, someone should tell me something. No one has looked for me; we posted on Facebook – I did everything I could to let everyone know that my daughter is missing, but no one has contacted me.”
Mia’s aunt, Galit, told Israeli media, “Today [the family] called me screaming and told me that they saw Mia in a video on Telegram. I saw her, and I thought I was dreaming. I finally saw the girl after all this time. She looks hurt and scared – but at least she’s alive.”
“This is a very significant step, and we want our girl at home. We demand that the countries of the free world make sure that she returns to us. She was with a very good friend of hers – Elya Toledano, and we heard nothing more about him. We want to know he’s okay.”
It is unclear when the video of Mia was filmed and The Jerusalem Post is unable to verify its authenticity. Neither the woman’s family nor any Israeli government or security officials have confirmed the authenticity of the video.