‘Beg the world to return my baby’

When Keren Schem saw her daughter Mia Schem in a video released by Hamas, she screamed. Then she watched the video again to discern what she could about her daughter’s welfare.

The video of Schem was the first sign of life the world has received from any of the some 200 hostages taken from southern Israel during a bloody Hamas onslaught into southern Israel on October 7.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Keren Schem said the family was heartened to see Mia alive, but expressed concern for the hostages’ welfare, calling on world leaders to intervene on their behalf.

“I beg the world to return my baby to me,” said Schem, whose daughter holds dual Israeli-French citizenship.

“I rely on everyone, this is a crime against humanity,” she said. “It’s beyond politics, it’s evil terror and inhumane. Today it’s by us and tomorrow it’s somewhere else.”

In the video, Schem’s right arm is bandaged to the elbow and someone is seen off-camera, attending to her arm. She also delivers a statement, asking to be returned to her family.

“I see that she’s very terrified, in a lot of pain, and I can see that she’s saying what they’re telling her to say,” said Schem, who had heard rumours that her daughter had been shot in the shoulder.

Schem said the family did not know if Mia was dead or alive until they saw the video on Monday night. She had gone to the Supernova desert rave with her best friend, Elia Toledano, whose fate remains unknown, said Schem.

The Israel Defence Forces has termed the video “psychological terror”, and said it expects more of them to be released.

In addition to the Israeli military, French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned Hamas on Tuesday for publishing the video, demanding her unconditional release.

“This is psychological terror by Hamas against the citizens of Israel,” said IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. “In this video, Hamas tries to present itself as a humanitarian organisation while it is in fact a murderous terror group.”

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is speaking directly with senior Hamas officials to demand access to Israelis hostages.

“We are speaking with Hamas at the highest levels, face-to-face,” said Sarah Davies of ICRC Israel and the Occupied Territories. “The plight of loved ones being held hostage is one of our top priorities. We are making demands to see them. We are asking that they be able to contact family members.

“We are calling for immediate access to those taken hostage, so we can check on their wellbeing and contact their panicked families who are desperate for news.”

The families of 199 people have been notified so far that their loved ones are being held in the Gaza Strip and Hagari said the military has some information on their whereabouts.

“We are making valiant efforts to try to understand where the hostages are in Gaza, and we have such information,” Hagari said in response to a question at a press conference.

“We will not carry out an attack that would endanger our people,” he added.

Israelis and foreign nationals – infants, children with special needs, octogenarians with chronic health issues – were dragged by terrorists into Gaza. National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi said on Saturday that there are no active negotiation efforts underway by Israel to repatriate the Israelis and some other foreign nationals kidnapped by Hamas, saying “there is no way right now to have a negotiation” with the terror organisation.

“Israel will not hold negotiations with an enemy that we have vowed to wipe from the face of the earth,” he said.

His comments prompted fury from the families of the missing, with their spokesman accusing the government of abandoning them.

TIMES OF ISRAEL