The three Israeli hostages released from captivity in Gaza today gained their freedom under humiliating and dehumanizing conditions. The hostages—Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher—were handed over to the Red Cross and then the IDF, but not before their captors forced them to endure a series of calculated acts designed to amplify their suffering and mock their release.
The hostages were forced to wear necklaces adorned with Palestinian flags and carry “gift bags” prepared by Hamas. These bags contained maps identifying the locations where they were held, photographs of their time in captivity, and so-called “certificates” that mocked their horrific ordeal.
If that wasn’t enough, Hamas then forced them smile and take photos of them with their “certificates” as well as their gift bags. Hamas then released a video of this.
The IDF released a video showing the hostages holding these unsettling items during their transfer to Israeli custody. The footage underscores the extent to which Hamas weaponized the release to deliver a message of cruelty and intimidation, both to the hostages and to the Israeli public.
The incident is yet another stark reminder of Hamas’s brutal tactics and utter disregard for basic human decency. By turning the release of captives into a spectacle of psychological torment, Hamas once again took to the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to sowing pain and chaos at every opportunity.
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3 Responses
There are way too many buildings standing in gaza.
Wow, so many “innocent palestinians”…
Netanyahu and only Netanyahu is to blame for all capitulation. He is the biggest leftist in the world, far more dangerous than Lapid who at least admits he is leftist while Netanyahu poses as right.
Netanyahu (and his million or so believers, a real cult!) cultivated and funded Hamas for years, Netanyahu refuses to settle Gaza today, which is the only real solution. He sacrificed and sacrifices hundreds of soldiers’ lives for his futile effort to maintain his image as a humanitarian.
The day after Oct. 7 Israel could have done anything they wanted in Gaza and no one would have objected. It is Netanyahu and his policy of procrastination and dragging out to buy time at all costs that let all the legitimacy go down the toilet. Netanyahu killed hundreds of soldiers without causing Hamas to lose one inch of land, at the end of the day he will simply surrender and the world with Netanyahu in the lead will line up to finance the rebuilding of Gaza.
The other sensible option could have and should have been a comprehensive hostage deal emptying Israel’s prisons of Hamas prisoners followed by a brutal and merciless declaration of a new war on Hamas by Israel. Shimon and Levi with Shechem style…
Netanyahu refuses to do anything sensible, the only thing he knows how to do is buy time no matter what the cost is in lives or anything else.
At the end of the day the real hostages are Netanyahu’s million followers who are so attached to his tone of voice they follow him to their death.
It is the Israeli Right that refuses to provide an alternative to Netanyahu from the Right who is to blame and no one else.