Former hostage tells NAZA directors: 'A couple of morons'

Eliya Cohen, a former Hamas hostage who spent 505 days in captivity, lashed out at the creators of a documentary about the war in Gaza that won a jury prize in Venice. Cohen called the film a blow to Israel's image and urged people to share photos of the directors so they would be ashamed to appear on the streets. He questioned the credibility of anonymous soldier testimonies, calling them staged.

Eliya Cohen, a former Hamas hostage who spent 505 days in captivity, issued a sharp video statement against the creators of a documentary about the war in Gaza, which recently won a jury prize at the Venice Film Festival. Cohen called the film a blow to Israel's image and urged the distribution of the directors' photos across all channels, so that they would feel shame when encountering Israelis and families of the fallen on the street. He emphasized that he does not call for violence but believes it is necessary to publicly show the filmmakers that society rejects them. Cohen also questioned the credibility of anonymous testimonies from 24 Israeli soldiers and officers featured in the film, claiming they involve staged scenes. He noted that the film portrays Gaza residents solely as innocent civilians, although he himself, while in captivity, feared some locals no less than the militants. According to him, the filmmakers have the blood of fallen friends and diaspora Jews on their hands, and projects like this cause Israelis abroad to face hostility.

Former hostage tells NAZA directors: 'A couple of morons'