Netanyahu requests release of gruesome Oct 7 footage

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In the wake of the recent release of a video showing the abduction of female soldiers from the Nahal Oz base, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to release a modified version of the 43-minute video documenting the brutal events of the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Kfar Aza and met with IDF soldiers on Oct. 14, 2023. Photo by Avi Ohayon/GPO

This video, which includes graphic content such as murders and severe visual assaults, is intended to be shortened and slightly censored for global distribution.

Following the directive from the premier, the IDF is now working to “prepare” the video by seeking consent from the families of those killed and wounded who appear in the footage. This process involves navigating legal issues and respecting the fundamental rights of each family to decide whether their most difficult moments should be publicly viewed. The aim is to create a version that, while censored, still conveys the impact of the events.

At the end of October, members of Israel’s parliament were invited to view a compilation of video footage showing some of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. The screening, held behind closed doors, was organized following a request by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

This footage, which had previously been shown to the foreign press, included recordings from body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists, security cameras, dashcams, smartphones and social media accounts. Several MKs had to leave the screening early due to its graphic nature, and one fainted after watching the footage.

In early November, the Israeli Embassy in Washington screened raw footage of Hamas atrocities to over 30 U.S. lawmakers and foreign dignitaries. This screening marked the one-month anniversary of the massacre and featured the same 43-minute video.

Later in November, then-Foreign Minister Eli Cohen expressed outrage after Belgium’s Federal Parliament refused an offer from the Israeli Embassy in Brussels to screen the video compilation.

Cohen criticized the decision on social media, stating, “In your decision not to screen in parliament the video depicting the atrocities, the president of the Parliament of Belgium is turning a blind eye to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Hamas.”