‘Do everything’: In Hamas propaganda clip, hostage Omri Miran begs to return home
Captive father of 2, kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, appeals to Trump, saying president is ‘probably the only person in the world strong enough’ to make another deal
The family of hostage Omri Miran okayed the publication on Thursday of portions of a Hamas propaganda video released a day earlier, in which the married father of two begs to return home.
In the parts of the video which his family released to the public, Miran said he was marking his 48th birthday, which was on April 11, indicating that the video was filmed recently.
“This is the second birthday that I’m going through here — I can’t say ‘celebrating’ — in Hamas captivity,” he continued. “I haven’t been happy for a year and a half. I miss my daughters, my wife, and all my family and friends.”
The content of the video was almost certainly dictated by Miran’s captors.
“The situation here is very hard, it’s very hard for us,” he continued. “Thank you to all the protesters, to all the people who want us to return home in peace. Do everything, everything so that we can return home now, as fast as possible.”
Miran was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023, and has been held captive in Gaza ever since. Of the 251 hostages taken that day, 58 are believed to still be held in the Strip, including 34 confirmed dead by Israeli authorities.
Miran issued a direct appeal to freed hostage Keith Siegel, with whom he was held for part of his captivity.
“I want to ask Keith, my friend who was released, and all the other hostages who were already released, to go out to protest, to speak to the media, so that the entire country understands, so that everyone will understand, how hard and terrible the situation is here,” said Miran, stressing that the hostages live “in constant fear” of IDF strikes.
He also appealed directly to US President Donald Trump for assistance, saying that he is “probably the only person in the world strong enough” to make another deal.
Siegel, who was freed from Gaza in February 2025, has taken part in a relentless public campaign to bring the rest of the hostages home, including many interviews with international media outlets. He also visited Auschwitz this week to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying that he needs “to do anything I can to bring them home.”
Miran, who has been held hostage for more than 18 months, previously appeared in a Hamas propaganda video a year ago, alongside Siegel.
Hamas has previously issued several similar videos of hostages being held, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare. Most Israeli media, including The Times of Israel, do not usually carry the video clips unless the families of those shown in them permit the media to distribute them.
After clearing portions of the video for publication, Miran’s family vowed that they would do everything they could to bring him home.
“I always said and I always knew, Omri is a survivor,” his wife, Lishay Lavi-Miran, told reporters outside their Nahal Oz home on Thursday evening. “He’s a survivor in captivity, he’s a survivor in life.”
She said that he has every reason to survive — “he has two daughters, Roni and Alma, who he has to stay strong for. Omrili, my love, you’re a force of nature… I promise you that you will hear the word ‘Dad’ again.”
Miran’s father, Dani, slammed the “impotent government” for being unable to make decisions and “not bringing any new proposals,” and failing in negotiations to bring his son home. “I am standing here today and asking the government to do everything.”
Though Israeli and Hamas delegations were both in Cairo this week for talks on a potential ceasefire deal, the negotiations appear largely stalled over the same gaps that have plagued the talks since they began.
In a six-week ceasefire deal reached in January, 30 Israeli and Thai hostages were freed and the bodies of eight slain hostages were returned to Israel. But talks on the next stage of the deal broke down when Israel sought to extend the first stage and Hamas refused, sticking by its demand that further stages must include an end to the war.
Israel cut off all humanitarian aid to the Strip on March 2, and returned to fighting in Gaza on March 18. Egyptian and Qatari mediators put forward a new proposal this week for a long-term ceasefire, but little progress appears to have been made in the talks.
The Times of Israel Community.