‘There was never a doubt that Hamas would wield this deal as an opportunity to show that it was still in control of Gaza,’ says regional analyst
Heavily armed Hamas terrorists and their Gazan allies paraded through the streets on Sunday, surrounding an ambulance carrying the first round of Israeli hostages released under a tenuous ceasefire deal. The public show of force served as a stark reminder that, even after a year of war, Hamas still controls the embattled Gaza Strip.
Photos showed throngs of armed Hamas fighters riding through the streets as Gazans celebrated around them. The terrorist motorcade drove all the way to the meeting point where an ambulance was set to transfer the three Israel hostages, creating a tense and unpredictable moment as the three captives were set free. Other footage posted on social media depicted Hamas supporters rallying behind the group, including a small child holding what appeared to be a handgun and sporting a Hamas headband. Though Hamas terrorists spent much of the past year hiding in tunnels and fighting in civilian clothes, they wore uniforms as the hostages were released.
It appears Hamas is planning to traumatize the hostages one last time by releasing them to the Red Cross amidst a huge mob, as they did in November 2023. pic.twitter.com/3aM70Jtvfv
— Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) January 19, 2025
Al-Jazeera is broadcasting live footage of Hamas terrorists making way at the assembly point as part of the process of handing over the hostages. pic.twitter.com/rCp5c761Oz
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 19, 2025
What kind of culture is this? pic.twitter.com/0mPym4Necs
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) January 19, 2025
Those released include Romi Gonen, 24, Doron Steinbrecher, 31, and Emily Damari, 28. They are the first of 33 hostages who will be returned to Israel during the first phase of a three-tiered ceasefire agreement. Israel has promised to release scores of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for each captive who is released.
Hamas’s Sunday power play threatened to kill the ceasefire before it had begun. Implementation of the deal was delayed for nearly three hours on Sunday after Hamas failed to provide Israel with the names of those who would be released.
Just hours before Israeli forces departed the Gaza Strip, its soldiers spray painted a message for the hostages on a signpost leading out of the territory: “We turned the world upside down for you. It’s so good you’re coming home. We are waiting for you.”
Before they withdrew, IDF soldiers left this message on the main road in Gaza. The female hostages will see it as soon as the IRCR jeeps start rolling toward Israel.
It reads: ‘We turned the world upside for you. It’s so good you’re coming home. We are waiting for you. Team OZ.” pic.twitter.com/IIaK7kWGWb— Rachel Gur (@RachelGur) January 19, 2025
By midday Sunday, the first three hostages returned to Israel, where they underwent immediate medical evacuations before being transported to regional hospitals. Israeli television stations documented celebrations as the hostages were returned, with one clip showing dancing Israeli civilians, reportedly friends of Damari, lifting an Israeli journalist into the air.
The moment Emily Damari’s friends lifted a journalist in the air as they celebrated news that she was on her way home. pic.twitter.com/TzsCQX7FZ7
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) January 19, 2025
“I know, we all know, they have been through hell,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the captives had been secured. “They are emerging from darkness into light, from bondage to freedom.”
Hamas’s emergence from the shadows on Sunday raises questions about how long the ceasefire will hold. The terror group is not permitted to participate in negotiations over Gaza’s future, yet it still remains a powerful political force in Gaza, even after it suffered heavy casualties in the war it sparked with its Oct. 7 terror attack.
Jonathan Schanzer, a Middle East analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said Hamas’s Sunday display is part of a ploy to assert dominance and preserve its rule in Gaza. He expressed doubt that the effort would prove successful in the long term, predicting that Israel would “resume the fight” after its hostages return to the Jewish state.
“There was never a doubt that Hamas would wield this deal as an opportunity to show that it was still in control of Gaza,” Schanzer told the Washington Free Beacon. “When women, children, injured, sick, and elderly are all backs safe in Israel, I expect Israel to resume the fight.”
Joe Biden, in some of his final remarks as president, celebrated the hostage release during a press event on Sunday.
“After so much pain, destruction, and loss of life, today, the guns in Gaza have gone silent,” Biden said, noting that four more female hostages will be released within a week, with three additional captives freed every seven days after. At least two American hostages are scheduled to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
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