New video shows moments Hamas terrorists kidnap IDF tank crew on Oct 7
Parents of the four soldiers decide to release footage and reveal: ‘The tank provided by the army wasn’t functioning properly’
In one of the most viral and memorable videos from Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists and Gazan civilians are seen rejoicing on top of and around a burnt IDF tank. Ten months later, the parents of the four soldiers from the 77th Battalion who were kidnapped from the tank decided to release the full footage on Israel’s Channel 12 News.
“I recognized my son getting out, even though his face was blurry. You can’t mistake your own child,” said Amir Daniel, the father of the late tank loader Oz Daniel. His mother, Merav, told the channel it is now known that Oz was no longer alive about half an hour from the moment he was kidnapped.
“In a different video published by Hamas, Oz is seen fighting the terrorists, trying to grab a grenade from them, against all odds. Then they shot him dead,” she said.
Oz’s body is still being held in Gaza, as well as the body of the tank driver Shaked Dahan. Two other tank crew members, gunner Nimrod Cohen and commander Omer Neutra – born in New York and raised on Long Island – are among the hostages presumed to be alive.
Nimrod’s father, Yehuda Cohen, described the sequence as if it was happening in two stages. “First was the ‘operational’ stage in which the terrorists executed their action and went away. Then after came a mob of Gazan civilians to celebrate the remains,” he said.
Cohen revealed in the televised report that "the crew couldn’t operate effectively during the attack because the equipment provided by the army wasn’t functioning properly.”
According to the televised report, the tank started to slow down when it was heading towards Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim – two Israeli southern communities that suffered many casualties and abductions during the massacre. The tank caught RPG fire, then the terrorists were able to attach two bombs and neutralize it. The soldiers inside the burning vehicle started suffocating and climbed outside.
The parents told the channel that while they wanted to remember their children safe and smiling, they decided to publish the video to raise awareness for the hostages and the overall failure of that day.
When asked about the efforts underway to release the hostages, Cohen urged the Israeli government to agree to a ceasefire deal.
“There is no question that hostages who are alive should be a top priority,” his wife added, “but I think the outline should include the release of deceased hostages at every stage of the deal.”
Meanwhile, the ceasefire deal summit that was planned for Aug. 15 in Doha, seems uncertain. The United States, Egypt and Qatar invited Israel and Hamas to take part and finalize the details, but newly-appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar announced on Sunday that his organization would not participate. That came after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had already agreed to send a delegation.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that securing a ceasefire deal is “getting harder” but his administration will keep pushing for one. Biden also expressed hopes that Iran will hold off its expected retaliatory attack against Israel if a deal is reached in the next few days.
“That’s my expectation,” the president told reporters. “We’ll see what Iran does and we’ll see what happens if there is any attack. But I’m not giving up.”
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
