Watan-The revelation of the meeting between the head of the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, and a number of Israeli prisoners in the sector has sparked widespread reactions in the past hours in the Israeli media.
During a press conference held on Monday evening, the spokesperson for the Israeli occupying army, Daniel Hagai, was asked whether Sinwar had indeed met with a number of prisoners.
هل التقى السنوار المحتجزين الإسرائيليين؟.. صحفي يسأل المتحدث باسم جيش الاحتلال #الجزيرة_مباشر #طوفان_الأقصى pic.twitter.com/8IDP1MQTzw
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Hagai’s response to the question
The Israeli spokesperson declined to disclose any details in this regard, stating that they gather intelligence and operational information, obtaining some of this information through interrogating prisoners who are released.
He added that they scrutinize this information, claiming that it serves them for intelligence purposes and also for planning their future operations.
Hagai continued, “I will not delve into specific details, but we address what contributes to achieving the goal of releasing detainees, and this also applies to the case of Yahya Sinwar.
Yahya Sinwar’s Meeting with Israeli Prisoners
Israeli media recently revealed a meeting that took place in the past hours, where the Israeli Channel 12 reported that Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, met with Israeli detainees. During the meeting, Sinwar reportedly assured them that they were in the safest place and that no harm would come to them.
According to Haaretz newspaper, Sinwar spoke with some of the Israeli detainees in Gaza using the Hebrew language. Reports quoted one of the recently released detainees who mentioned that Sinwar met with them in a tunnel in Gaza. The newspaper confirmed that Israeli security authorities have verified this information.
It’s worth noting that Israel has not allowed the released detainees to speak to the media, a move described as an attempt to avoid embarrassment due to the good treatment the prisoners received in Gaza.
Relatives of Detainees Confirm No Torture or Ill-Treatment
Relatives of recently released detainees, as part of the ceasefire agreement, have confirmed that their family members did not experience “torture or ill-treatment” while in the custody of resistance factions in the Gaza Strip. This follows a previous statement by Israeli Channel 12, which reported that it had interviewed some relatives of the released detainees in recent days.
The spokespersons emphasized that the released detainees were not subjected to mistreatment during their time with the resistance factions in Gaza. They also mentioned that, at times, the detainees were allowed to listen to Israeli radio.