Hamas hostage video shows Maxim Herkin and Bar Kuperstein, in first signs of life
Both captives’ families ask Israeli media not to publish the clip itself; official says PM ‘updated’ on video, recently spoke with the families
The terror group Hamas released on Saturday a propaganda video featuring hostages Bar Kuperstein and Maxim Herkin in the first sign of life from both men since they were abducted by terrorists on October 7, 2023.
Herkin’s relatives said earlier Saturday that they had recognized his voice after Hamas initially published a blurred clip from the video.
The families have asked Israeli media not to publish the footage or details on its contents.
Hamas has previously issued similar videos of other hostages it is holding, with Israel scorning such videos as psychological warfare.
Herkin and Kuperstein are among the 24 hostages believed to still be alive of the 59 total hostages that remain in captivity in Gaza.
The hostages are among 251 Israelis and foreigners kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst into Israel, killing some 1,200 people amid rampant acts of brutality and overt targeting of civilians, starting the war in Gaza.
Both hostages were kidnapped by terrorists from the Nova music festival near Re’im.
Herkin, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, was 35 at the time of his abduction, has a three-year-old daughter, and was the primary provider for his mother and 11-year-old brother. He attended the Nova festival by chance, invited by friends at the last minute. It was the first time he had gone to a rave.
In February, Hamas said that Herkin would be prioritized during the second stage of the hostage deal, if it were to be signed, as a gesture to the Russian government. However, the agreement between Israel and Hamas fell apart after its first stage, with Israel renewing the fighting in Gaza last month.
Kuperstein, a 22-year-old from Holon, was working as a guard and paramedic at the festival. Until then, he had been financially supporting his mother, Julie, his father, Tal, and his four younger siblings.
Kuperstein was working as a guard at the festival to earn money for his family, his cousin told The Times of Israel in an interview last month.
After Hamas published the footage of the two hostages, an Israeli official said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been “updated” on the video.
Netanyahu is in Budapest, from where he will fly Sunday to Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump, expected to take place on Monday.
The official added that Netanyahu spoke with the Kuperstein family about a week and a half ago, and that just before flying to Hungary, he spoke with the Herkin family.
The official also said that government hostage point man Gal Hirsch had spoken with both families on Saturday.
Fears for the lives of the remaining hostages were heightened after Hamas said in a statement Friday that it would not move living Israeli hostages out of areas in the Gaza Strip that the Israel Defense Forces has ordered to be evacuated in recent days. Hamas said the Israeli government would be at fault if captives were killed.
The IDF has issued evacuation orders for the entire Rafah area, Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, and other areas in the Strip’s north. The statement also said that Hamas was keeping the hostages “under strict security measures, which are extremely dangerous to their lives.”
Hamas has previously said it would execute hostages if Israeli troops are seen approaching areas where they are being held. In August, Hamas murdered six hostages in Rafah as Israeli forces were operating nearby.
The Times of Israel Community.