Watan-The release of three detainees in Gaza on Thursday, surrounded by crowds of Gazans and fighters from the Al-Qassam Brigades and Saraya Al-Quds, angered Israeli occupation leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the scenes as “shocking” before Israeli media announced the suspension of the planned release of Palestinian prisoners until further notice.
In a statement, Netanyahu said:”I am deeply horrified by the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages. This is yet more evidence of Hamas’ indescribable cruelty.” His remarks came after television broadcasts showed hundreds of Palestinians gathering to witness the handover of the detainees in Gaza near resistance fighters.
For his part, the leader of the far-right Israeli party Otzma Yehudit, Itamar Ben-Gvir, claimed that the scenes of the detainees’ handover demonstrated that this was a “total (Israeli) failure” rather than a “complete victory.” The resigned Minister of National Security wrote on X:”The horrific images coming from Gaza make it clear that this is not a complete victory, but a complete failure, in an unprecedented reckless deal.”
Ben-Gvir renewed his call for Israel to deprive Palestinians in Gaza of “humanitarian aid, fuel, electricity, and water, and to crush them militarily until they beg for the return of our hostages.” He added, “But (Netanyahu’s government) chose the path of surrender.”
Israeli media, including Israel Hayom, reported that the Israeli political leadership decided to suspend the release of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for Thursday. Meanwhile, Israeli public broadcaster KAN cited a political source stating that the suspension was due to the images of the detainees emerging from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
In contrast, Hamas stated that the large public gatherings during the handover of Israeli prisoners in Jabalia and Khan Yunis, in the northern and southern parts of Gaza amid the rubble, sent “a message to the occupier that the Palestinian people will remain on their land.”
This came in a statement from the movement following the handover of two Israeli prisoners by the Al-Qassam Brigades and Saraya Al-Quds to the International Committee of the Red Cross near the ruins of Yahya Sinwar’s home in Khan Yunis. Earlier, an Israeli female soldier was handed over in Jabalia refugee camp.
The statement read:”The massive turnout of our people in the handover operations in Khan Yunis and Jabalia, amid the rubble left by the Zionist fascism, is a message of persistence, strength, and defiance in the face of this barbaric occupier. It affirms that our people remain steadfast on their land, determined to achieve liberation, return, and self-determination.”
The movement added:”The Al-Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian resistance have once again demonstrated their high level of control over the situation through meticulously organized prisoner handovers that have impressed the world, after humiliating the enemy’s criminal army in the sands of Gaza.”
Hamas also emphasized:”What took place today reaffirms the unity of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Saraya Al-Quds (the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement), and the resistance forces in the field and in managing the exchange process, which was conducted in front of the home of the martyr leader Abu Ibrahim (Yahya Sinwar, the late head of Hamas’ political bureau).”
The statement continued:”The variety of locations where the Israeli prisoners were released—from different areas of the Strip, including steadfast Jabalia and Khan Yunis, and in front of the home of the martyr commander Yahya Sinwar—sends a message to the world that our people will remain on their land, continue resisting, and remain committed to liberation and return.”
Hamas further stated that “the areas destroyed by the occupation, where life was eradicated, today witness scenes of victory for our people and resistance through the achievement of the prisoner exchange process.”
The movement added:”We anticipate today the release of a new batch of our heroic prisoners from the prisons of the fascist occupation, after forcing the Zionist enemy to release them as part of the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ deal. We renew our pledge to them and to our steadfast people that we will continue marching together on the path of freedom and independence.”
In Khan Yunis, the detainees Arbel Yahud and Gadi Moses were handed over amid a massive crowd and a significant presence of Al-Qassam and Saraya Al-Quds fighters near the home of former Hamas political bureau chief Yahya Sinwar.
Earlier, the Al-Qassam Brigades handed over Israeli soldier Agam Berger to the International Committee of the Red Cross after retrieving her from a destroyed building due to Israeli bombardment in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The Al-Qassam Brigades had announced on Wednesday evening that they would release Berger, Yahud, and Moses in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners.
This release was part of the third batch of prisoners freed in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement and prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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