‘Next bomb will fall on my head’, captive Israeli soldier sends new video message to Netanyahu

CAIRO – 16 April 2025: Saraya al-Quds, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, broadcast a video message from captive Israeli soldier Baron Barslavsky to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Barslavsky referred to the difficult conditions he is experiencing in captivity due to the stifling Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip and the ongoing bombardment, saying: “I have been held captive in Gaza for a year and a half. A year and a half of hell and endless pain that is renewed every day. A year and a half of food and water shortages and severe illnesses. Every day I am in pain. I don't know what to do with my life. My health is very difficult and unimaginable, as is my physical condition.”

The soldier wondered: “What will you do to us? What are your next steps? What will you do? what will happen tomorrow? The next bomb will fall on my head, and my blood is your responsibility, Mr. Prime Minister Netanyahu."

Addressing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, he added, “I voted for you in the last elections. I gave you my voice not so you would leave me to die here in Gaza, the Gaza Strip, which you have not stopped bombing and closing without food or water. We, the Israeli prisoners, are here, suffering daily.”

Regarding the recent attempts to reach a deal and release Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, he said: “You want to make a deal to release one American prisoner, Edan Alexander. Who is he? Is he the king of Israel? Is he better than me? No one is better than me. I am not a Category Z kidnapped person. I am a human being like you. Think of me, Netanyahu. You are at home, wandering from one country to another. Think of me as your son, your son who is a prisoner in Gaza, suffering psychologically, without a mother, water, food, or treatment.”

Addressing US President Donald Trump, he said: “I ask Trump. Where are you? Where are your promises? Didn't you say we would be liberated in a deal? You didn't even order a ceasefire! All of Gaza is destroyed. There's nothing worth mentioning here. Nothing at all remains! Why is this?! Why are you doing this to us? Don't I have a family? They're sitting at home, torn apart.”

On March 18, Israeli forces resumed the war in Gaza, killing over 1,500 Palestinian deaths, predominantly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

The latest hostilities raise the number of fatalities in Gaza since the war began in October 2023 to nearly 51,000 people.