French President Emmanuel Macron today condemned “the wretchedness that is the taking of innocent people hostage, and their vile staged presentation”, after watching the video of a French-Israeli hostage released by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the French Presidency.

“The President of the Republic has taken note of the video of Mia Shem, a French-Israeli citizen, which was made public by the terrorist movement Hamas,” it says in a statement issued by the French presidency.

Macron is asking for her release

“She requests her immediate and unconditional release. France is fully mobilized and is working with its partners to free the French hostages held by Hamas,” the French presidency added.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna spoke on Sunday “with the families whose relatives were murdered or kidnapped, including that of Mia Sem,” it also said.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and launched a surprise and unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, has since held, according to Israeli officials, nearly 200 hostages. Hamas’s armed wing announced yesterday, Monday night, that they are “between 200 and 250”.

Yesterday, Monday, the Islamic movement broadcast on its official Telegram account the video “of one of the captives in Gaza”, in which a young woman is shown speaking in Hebrew. The caption of the video states that she was abducted “on the first day” of the Hamas attack on Israeli soil.

The young woman says she is being held in Gaza and is appealing for her release, adding that she is being treated well.