In the fifth round of the hostage deal and ceasefire, three Israeli hostages were released: Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami. Their appalling physical appearance testifies to confinement under starvation conditions. The sight reminds us all of the Holocaust events from eight decades ago. It once again reveals how cruel Hamas is and where Hamas ranks the value of human life.
The focus of Palestinian social media channels, which mostly favor Hamas, illustrates the cynical attitude of the organization and of its supporters: The Palestinian channels featured Israeli news photos of the Israeli hostages and added some snide comments that Abu Ubayda, the spokesman for the Hamas military wing, made at the beginning of the war:
“This is what Israel, when it used starvation as a weapon against the residents of Gaza, did to its own people who were held by Hamas… Israeli media publishes photos of a captive Israeli from before his imprisonment in Gaza and from the time of his release.”
Abu Ubayda said at the beginning of the war, “Your prisoners will live the way the residents of Gaza live, in the shadow of an imposed famine. They will eat like the Gazans and will drink when the Gazans drink.”
These hostage releases, taking place in the form of a Hamas production, turn the stomach of every Israeli viewer. Hamas considers that this is a show of force, promoting its brand among supporters at home and abroad and showing that it has survived the war and still rules Gaza. One of the themes that Hamas intends to convey in the horror show at each of the hostage releases is the humiliation of Israel and the “proof” of who the winner is. With each round of releases, Hamas builds its victory narrative and hangs more messages on the scenery.
The fifth round revived the regular practice of bringing the hostages on stage to be ridiculed and humiliated. But this time the hostages were subjected to “interviews,” answering questions in Hebrew. In addition, at the foot of the same stage, a large sign displayed the defiant message “Absolute Victory”; and above the stage, another sign displayed a mordant message to American President Donald Trump: “We are the day after.” That message leaves no doubt that Hamas intends to keep control of the Gaza Strip and opposes moving Palestinians away from it. Hamas addresses its message to three parties: Israel, the United States, and the Palestinian Authority. First, Hamas emphasizes that the Palestinians will certainly not migrate voluntarily; and second, it tells the Palestinian Authority emphatically who will control the Gaza Strip. And those messages also register among the residents of Gaza – including especially the upcoming generation. During preparations for the horror show, small Palestinian children were already being costumed as terrorists from the Hamas military wing. Children wearing the military wing’s headbands were hoisted onto their fathers’ shoulders in front of the abused Israeli hostages on stage. Hamas uses the grotesque festival surrounding the hostage releases as a way of indoctrinating the next generation and bequeathing a belligerent tradition. That generation is now learning from Hamas that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” is a historic milestone and that the every Gazan child will now dream of joining the military wing of Hamas.
Note that while Israeli hostages were being released, Ali Khamenei – Iran’s supreme leader – met with a Hamas delegation in Tehran. Khamenei told the Hamas delegation, led by Khalil al-Hayya: “You defeated America and the Zionist entity and prevented them from achieving their goals.
“In the minds of the Iranian people, the defense of Palestine and the support of its people are beyond question. For us the issue of Palestine is fundamental, and for us the victory of Palestine is inevitable.”
Just as Iran tries to disseminate slogans that are divorced from reality, Hamas is trying to raise echoes with a false equation: Hamas dressed the Israeli hostages in prison uniforms that bore their picture with the caption “I am a prison inmate under the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades” (the Hamas military wing). In that cynical equation, Hamas presents the Israeli hostages, innocent people who were kidnapped from their homes, as equivalent to terrorists who were captured and convicted after carrying out serious terror attacks.
Hamas hones its messages
Throughout the war, Hamas has tried to present false equations, likening the terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons to the Israeli hostages wasting away as captives in Gaza. However, having signed the agreement to return the hostages and respect the ceasefire, Hamas is now honing its messages and sharpening them with each round of releases in order to build up its power and its narrative as the “victor” and the Palestinian people’s “hero.” Hamas turns every hostage release into a grand show displaying its power and branding itself as the authority figure. These performances contribute to rebuilding trust among the residents of Gaza – an important consideration after Hamas was greatly criticized during the war. Many Palestinians complained that with the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, Hamas brought about a “renewed Nakba” for the Palestinians. Now Hamas is trying to change the conception – to repackage the new “Nakba” into a Hamas victory.
The weekly horror festival of Hamas
The messages from Hamas are groundwork for its vision of “the day after” – which resembles the run-up to October 7th: demonstrations of force by the military wing in Gaza, weapons brandished in the air, Hamas symbols as indications of rulership in the Gaza Strip, and denial of the Palestinian Authority’s influence. The message resoundingly emerging is that Hamas will agree neither to depart voluntarily nor even to relinquish power. On the contrary, Hamas will remain committed to the conflict and to its goal of destroying the State of Israel. Week after week, Hamas updates its “victory” narrative. Harrowing images from the weekly horror festival illustrate the murderous Hamas version of “the day after.” Hamas is showing us its plan for the future of Gaza and of the entire region – the Middle East reverting to October 6th. This once again emphasizes the need for the terrorist organization to be ousted.
After the horror show from Hamas, Israel is expected to send a delegation to Qatar to discuss the conclusion of the first phase of the deal. In light of the difficult displays, Israel is striving to find an appropriate response that will not violate the agreement. A harsh response is required, but Israel’s leverage is limited. One option is a delay in releasing Palestinian prisoners. Such a delay would put Hamas under the pressure of fear that the deal may be torpedoed. That fear would spread to Gaza’s residents – and from the status of the “hero” that promised to release prisoners, the terrorist organization would slip to the status of a group that is bringing the drums of war, and the IDF, back to Gaza. As for Israel – despite Hamas’ brutal use of the hostages, Israel should not upset the applecart. It should continue to advance to the second phase of the deal. After all the hostages are returned, Hamas must be completely eliminated and the ground must be prepared for the implementation of Trump’s plan in Gaza. October 7th taught us once again that Hamas should not remain our neighbor. Victory, including the overthrow of Hamas, is the order of the day and indeed the only option.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the movement