A day earlier, Hamas\u2019 military wing released a video showing a dazed Mia Shem, 21, having her arm wrapped with bandages. It was the first sign of life from any of the hostages since Gaza-based gunmen smashed through border fortifications on October 7, killing more than 1400 people in Israel.<\/p>\n
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Keren Shem\u2019s daughter Mia is being held hostage by Hamas.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n The New York Times<\/em> reported that the video\u2019s metadata suggested it was filmed at least six days ago. The video ends with her plea to be returned to Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cI just ask that I am returned as fast as possible to my family, to my parents, and to my siblings,\u201d Mia reportedly says. \u201cPlease get us out of here as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Her mother Keren Shem said at a news conference that she didn\u2019t know if her daughter was dead or alive until yesterday (Monday).<\/p>\n \u201cAll I knew is that she might be kidnapped. I\u2019m begging the world to bring my baby back home. She only went to a party, to a festival party to have some fun. Now she\u2019s in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Mia was seized at a desert rave just over the border from Gaza that became the site of what is believed to be the worst civilian massacre in Israeli history. At least 260 people were gunned down as heavily armed militants in trucks and on motorcycles barrelled through the vast field on Kibbutz Re\u2019im where thousands had gathered for a carefree night of electronic music.<\/p>\n Civilians and soldiers, young and old, Israelis and non-Israelis were among at least 199 people taken into captivity from Re\u2019im and other areas in southern Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a crime against humanity and we should all gather and stop this terror and bring everybody back home,\u201d Keren Shem said.<\/p>\n A still image of Mia Shem from a Hamas hostage video.<\/span><\/p>\n The plight of the hostages has dominated Israel\u2019s media since the attack. The seizure of so many civilian hostages is unprecedented in Israel\u2019s history, and interviews with relatives are broadcast throughout the day.<\/p>\n The Israeli military said Shem\u2019s family was told of her abduction last week, and officials dismissed the video as propaganda designed to make Hamas look humane. Israeli officials have vowed to maintain a siege on Gaza until the hostages are released.<\/p>\n Mia Shem has dual nationality with France, and on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron decried the hostage-taking.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have taken hostages, both civilian and military, of all nationalities and to use blackmail at this time is absolutely odious and unacceptable,\u201d Macron said at a news conference in Albania.<\/p>\n France, he added, was working with Israeli authorities and with Hamas through third parties to win the release of French and other hostages.<\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign <\/b>correspondents <\/i><\/b>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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