Hostage Elkana Bohbot, distraught and teary-eyed, begs for release, urges labor federation to take action to get him out

The family of Elkana Bohbot approves the publication of Hamas’s propaganda video of the hostage.

In the three-minute clip, Bohbot, appearing extremely distraught, begs for his release so that he can reunite with his wife and his son. He asserts throughout that he asked to make the video, and was not pressured into it by Hamas.

“Do you not understand? I want to get out of here!” Bohbot says.

Addressing the Histadrut Labor Federation, Bohbot says, “I’m choking, I’m choking,” as he tears at his t-shirt.

“I miss my wife, my son. Everyone. My family. Get me out of here. I worked for fifteen years… under the Histadrut. I never asked for anything. Nothing,” he says, urging the federation to take action to “protect your workers.”

“You got out the female soldiers. You got out the elderly. You got out the young people. You got out everyone. What about us?”

Bohbot, wiping tears away, begs to be able to celebrate his son’s fifth birthday.

Bohbot says he hears explosions all day and dismisses the idea that the military can rescue hostages by force.

Towards the end of the video, Bohbot gets on his knees, pleading for his release.