Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
An undated video published by Hamas on January 16, 2023, purportedly of Israeli captive Avera Mengistu. (Screenshot)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Avera Mengistu, a captive Israeli civilian held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas for more than eight years, “is alive,” after the terror group aired apparent recent footage of him yesterday.
“Israel does not stop its efforts to return Avera Mengistu and the rest of our captives and missing persons. Yesterday we received another confirmation of what we knew all along — that Avera is alive,” Netanyahu says after receiving a briefing from Shin Bet officials in the northern West Bank.
“This is a young man, not in good health, and responsibility for his fate rests entirely on Hamas,” Netanyahu adds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks out of a military post in the northern West Bank, January 17, 2023. (Haim Zach/GPO)
Netanyahu and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar visited the agency’s northern West Bank offices today, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
He received a security briefing on the agency’s activities in the area, before visiting a nearby military post, the PMO adds.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
