From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 31, 2025
PIJ releases video of hostage Rom Braslavski; ‘They broke him,’ family says
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The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group has put out a video of hostage Rom Braslavski, saying it is from before it claims it lost contact with his captors earlier this month.
The family has asked not to publish the video itself, but approves a still photo from it. It shows Braslavski looking pale and thin, lying on the ground in an unknown location in Gaza.
In a statement, the Braslavski family says: “We are deeply shaken. People talk a lot about what is happening in Gaza, about hunger, and I want to ask everyone who spoke about hunger: Did you see our Rom? He is not receiving food, and he is not receiving medicine. He has simply been forgotten there. Six minutes of video — that is all it took for Rom to break on camera. But Rom has been there for 664 days.
“They managed to break Rom. Even the strongest person has a breaking point. Rom is an example of all the hostages. They must all be brought home now.”
They demand “an immediate meeting with security officials… a meeting with the political and military leadership — from the head of Military Intelligence to the defense minister to the prime minister. We don’t understand what they’re doing all day at Knesset committees. Talking? Debating? Rom has been there for almost two years, and no one has even called to update us.
We ask that Ambassador Witkoff see this video. And we make an urgent plea to President Trump: Bring our son home.”
PIJ has made statements and claims in the past that have not always proven reliable. Israel has accused the group, like Hamas, of conducting psychological warfare. PIJ released a video of Braslavski in April, likely scripted by his captors, in which he said he was experiencing “hell” and displayed signs of illness.
The Times of Israel Community.