Explore More
An Israeli woman abducted by Hamas during a brutal assault on a music festival near the Gaza Strip pleaded for help in a video released by the terrorists — and her mother urged world leaders Tuesday to help free the 21-year-old.
Mia Shem — who went missing from the Tribe of Nova music festival, where terrorists slaughtered 260 people — is shown in the clip posted to Telegram being treated for an arm wound before she tells the camera she is in Gaza and pleads for her release.
In the 60-second clip — the first footage of a hostage posted by Hamas — Mia said she had a three-hour surgery in Gaza, according to a translation from Hebrew by the Jerusalem Post.
Shem’s family reportedly gave permission for media outlets to use a still image from the disturbing clip.
“They are taking care of me, giving me medicine, everything is fine. I only ask that they bring me home as soon as possible to my parents, to my siblings,” she said. “Get me out of here as soon as possible. Please.”
On Tuesday, her mother, Keren Shem, made a tearful plea at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
“I ask world leaders that my daughter be returned to us in the state that she is today, as well as the other hostages,” Shem said as she held up a photo of her daughter.
“I am begging the world to return my baby to me,” she said after French President Emmanuel Macron demanded her immediate and unconditional release.
“It is a crime against humanity. All together we need to stop this terror,” she said, adding that she had not known whether her daughter “was alive or dead” until Hamas released the shocking video.
“There was a rumor saying that she was wounded in the shoulder or the leg. She was wounded in the hand. She was operated on,” Shem added. “She looks terrified. She says what they tell her to say. I’m really worried about her.”
The Israel Defense Forces condemned the video and confirmed that Shem was kidnapped by Hamas last week.
The military said its officials are in continuous communication with her family.
“In the video published by Hamas, they try to portray themselves as humane,” the IDF wrote in a statement to X. “However, they are a horrorific [sic] terrorist organization responsible for the murder and abduction of babies, children, men, women and the elderly.”
Shem’s aunt told Israeli media that the family had seen the hostage video and confirmed it was her, according to the Jerusalem Post.
“Today [the family] called me screaming and told me that they see Mia in a video on Telegram. I saw her, and I thought I was dreaming. I finally saw the girl after all this time,” her aunt Galit told Israeli reporters. “She looks hurt and scared — but at least she’s alive.”
Some of the footage of Shem was filmed at least six days ago, according to an analysis of its metadata by the New York Times.
Her mother last spoke to her daughter the day before Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel.
“She called me to say she was going to a party down south,” Keren Shem said, according to the Times. “I asked her where, and she said she wasn’t sure.”
When she learned of the violent raid the next morning, she called her daughter over and over again but never got an answer.
She didn’t know what happened to her until the IDF informed the family that she had been abducted and taken to Gaza.
The family is hoping other countries will help to bring Shem home.
“This is a very significant step, and we want our girl at home,” her aunt said, referring to the video. “We demand that the countries of the free world make sure that she return to us. She was with a very good friend of hers — Elya Toledano, and we heard nothing more about him. We want to know he’s okay.”
The IDF said it was “deploying all intelligence and operational measures for the return of all hostages — including Mia.”
Earlier Monday, Israeli authorities announced that 199 people were kidnapped and are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza — adding another 50 people to the previously known numbers.
Americans are believed to be among the abducted as at least 13 US citizens are missing.
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3R7kGlmam5fna6urdJmqZ6klZbApr%2BMr6CdnZ9ivKd5yKypmp2cnnq4u8yapWafoqTCsXnIrGShp5yZtq%2BzjKGmrKyRnLJw