Over a week since invading Israel and killing over 1,300 people, Hamas released its first proof of life video involving one of the hostages it took. 

In the video, a 21-year-old named Mia Shem can be seen being "treated" by someone before she gives a statement claiming "everything is fine." 

“Hi, I’m Mia Shem, 21 years old from Shoham,” she says in the video. “Currently, I’m in Gaza. I returned early Saturday morning from Sderot; I was at a party. I was seriously injured in my hand. I underwent surgery on my hand at the hospital [in Gaza] for 3 hours. 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. Get me out of here as soon as possible. Please.”

🇵🇸🇮🇱 Hamas Release a Video Of A Hostage.

Mia Shem, 21 years old, is a Shoham resident with French citizenship.

She was kidnapped by Hamas from Sderot on the 7th of October.

"I am a prisoner in Gaza and they treated me and performed a surgery on me that took 3 hours, and… pic.twitter.com/0u1QZ0RgxR

— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) October 16, 2023

As one would expect, everything about the video reeks of propaganda. Her arm appears to be completely destroyed, an injury that would have been sustained during the initial attack that led to her being taken hostage. The clip of her "treatment" is just some guy wrapping bandages around her bandages. There is no way to know the actual level of care she has received, nor is it especially relevant to the situation given the fact that she's being held hostage.

Terrorist ruling authorities do not become noble if they choose to keep some hostages alive to serve their own interests. In this case, the video is clearly a way to try to push back on the bombings that are occurring, and there's little reason to believe Shem is actually "fine." I don't speak Hebrew, so I can't speculate on the tone of her voice, but just looking at her body language, it's clear her statement is coerced. 

Unfortunately, this video is actually being spread on social media as proof that the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered people are treating the hostages they took humanely. Where are the rest of them? Remember, there are somewhere between 150-200 hostages being held, assuming most aren't already dead. Why did it take over a week to show a single hostage? I think we can all make some reasonable assumptions about the situation.