Hamas released three hostages with gift bags - content revealed

Hamas released three hostages with gift bags - content revealed

On Sunday evening, the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam brigades, released a propaganda video that showed the release of three Israeli hostages. A striking detail in this video immediately caught.

Surprising details on the release of the hostages

When Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari climbed into a vehicle of the Red Cross in Gaza City, a masked Hamas fighter presented each of them a paper bag with the qassam brigades logo-a kind of "gift bag". The fighter then held up a certificate, which in Hebrew and Arabic made the inscription "release closing".

In later recordings published by the Israeli defense forces (IDF), the three women were seen as they kept the bags-however, the qassam brigades logo was blurred.

content of the gift bags and reactions

A representative of Gonen’s family announced on Monday that the bag contained the certificate, a necklace and photos. However, the photos were not taken closer, but Israeli media report that they documented the time of women in captivity.

During the handover, a representative of the Red Cross was asked to sign a document in Arabic, which was: "Confirmation of the conservation of Israeli prisoners". In this document it was stated that the representative of the International Red Cross received a total of three prisoners from the Izz Eddin al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

The message of Hamas

After 471 days of involuntary captivity, the idea that a hostage is given a gift bag appears undoubtedly bizarre. The key point is the attempt by Hamas to present himself as a serious, undefeated government. Fifteen months after the daring and devastating attack on Israel in October 2023, Hamas knew that this would be a crucial moment for the militant group.

The message was clear: to the Israelis, the Gazans and the global public - we are a legitimate government that continues to say and observes serious, legal protocols, even when it comes to Israeli civilians who have been violently taken out of their houses.

reactions to the military presence in Gaza

This message was also visible at the Al Saraya intersection in Gaza city, where a number of Qassam fighters set up-a sign to the Israeli public whose government promised to smash the group. But the assembly of a few dozen militants in Gaza City is hardly proven for a serious military threat.

The images will heat both the extremist rights in Israel, which believes that the ceasefire is a surrender, as well as those who prefer dialogue. These will argue that if, for 15 months of Hamas, for 15 months, pure bloodshed would be insane.

criticism of the Israeli strategy

The Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar admitted on Sunday that Israel had not achieved “his goal” to smash the military and political structures of Hamas. "We have made progress," he said.

Israeli military leadership as well as the forum for hostages and missing families that represented the relatives refused to comment on the video. In the meantime, U.S. Secretary of State Antony flashing that Israel was far from reaching his goal.

"We estimate that Hamas recruited almost as many new fighters as she lost. This is a recipe for permanent turmoil and an eternal war," said blinking recently.

When reporting on this topic, ABeer Salman and Mostafa Salem contributed.