ROME — Family and friends felt horror Wednesday at seeing a video of an Italian journalist kidnapped in Iraq pleading for her life -- and relief that she was still alive.

The video provided the first images of Giuliana Sgrena, a 56-year-old reporter for the communist daily Il Manifesto, since her kidnapping in Baghdad on Feb. 4.

The video, delivered anonymously to Associated Press Television News, showed Sgrena pleading for Italy to withdraw its troops from Iraq. It was released hours before the Senate approved extending the nation's 3,000-member military mission in Iraq through June. The measure now goes to the lower house for final approval.

The center-right coalition of Premier Silvio Berlusconi, a strong supporter of the U.S.-led Iraq campaign, has a comfortable majority in Parliament.

"On the one hand, I'm happy because at least I've seen that my daughter is still alive. On the other I'm worried because I don't think (Italian officials) want to withdraw the troops to save my daughter," the hostage's father, Franco Sgrena, said from his home in northern Italy.

"I know that my daughter's appeal is worth nothing," he said. "I'm worried because she seemed quite desperate."

Sgrena's brother, Ivan, described the footage as "the one video we hoped we would never see," and added that "the situation is extremely difficult."

Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini vowed to keep working for Sgrena's release "without changing the political, diplomatic and intelligence strategy that has been followed so far."

Fini said the government is satisfied to have evidence that Sgrena is alive, but is also worried that the kidnapping might not be resolved soon. He appealed to Italians to put aside their differences on Iraq and pull together.

Il Manifesto has been fiercely critical of the Iraq war and Berlusconi's decision to send in troops after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.

In the video, Sgrena appealed to her companion, Pierre Scolari, to spread word that she was in Iraq to report on the suffering of Iraqi people.

"This is what we have been doing for a long time," said Scolari. He noted that on Wednesday, Il Manifesto published what it said was a picture taken by Sgrena in April 2003 showing two children wounded by a bomb.

"Giuliana's eye describes the war as seen from the point of view of its victims -- as it always does," read the photo caption.

Scolari and relatives said Sgrena looked "worn out" in the video. Il Manifesto's editor-in-chief, Gabriele Polo, said she was "tired and held captive, but also alive and lucid."

"The video represents the beginning of a path that might lead to her freedom," he said.

Berlusconi said he was happy that Sgrena was alive. "The video shows that, as we thought, she is alive," Berlusconi was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

"Our services are carrying out a good job on this," he said, without elaborating. When faced with similar hostage crises in the past, the premier has said Italy could not give in to terrorists.

Nearly 200 foreigners have been taken hostage in Iraq, and more than 30 have been killed.

Sgrena is a veteran journalist who has traveled to Iraq many times. This time, she arrived in Baghdad on Jan. 23.

Since the abduction, there has been conflicting information on her fate, with several claims appearing on Islamic militant Web sites. Italian authorities had expressed skepticism over all such statements.

On Wednesday, television networks broke into regular programming to broadcast the videotape. A demonstration in Rome on Saturday organized by Il Manifesto to press for Sgrena's release will be televised live nationwide.