Gaza’s Defiance: The Weekly Handover of Israeli Prisoners and the Resistance’s Message to the World

Watan-Amid a large public gathering in Deir al-Balah, Al-Qassam Brigades carried out the fifth round of handing over Israeli prisoners—a scene that has become a fixed weekly event for the people of Gaza. They witness how the resistance maintains the initiative despite bombings, the siege, and the occupation’s continuous attempts to break their will.

The message conveyed on this day was not only directed at the Israeli occupation but also at Donald Trump and all those supporting the plan to displace Gaza’s residents and turn it into a tourist resort after eliminating the resistance. However, the scene dominating the screens affirmed that Gaza is neither for sale nor for rent, and its people—who have resisted the occupation for decades—are the sole decision-makers, ruling and defending their land.

The prisoner handover platform stood tall amid the crowds, who have come to anticipate the weekly exchange. The sight reinforces the image of resistance in the minds of Palestinians, affirming that Gaza still has formidable fighters whose numbers grow by the day and that the initiative remains in their hands despite the occupation’s attempts to impose its conditions by force.

It wasn’t just the massive public turnout that stirred controversy but also the messages from the Israeli detainees themselves, who directed their words at their failing government, questioning why it has been unable to bring them home—especially when Al-Qassam Brigades have managed to keep them alive and hand them over safely, despite Israeli military attempts to eliminate them during the war.

For the first time during these handovers, a fighter from Al-Qassam Brigades appeared and delivered a direct speech to the crowd, affirming that the occupation understands only the language of force and that the resistance is capable of thwarting all Israeli plans, whether military or political.

Meanwhile, Israelis followed the event from Tel Aviv, where the prisoners‘ families watched the handover of their loved ones through Hebrew media outlets that criticized the Israeli government for failing to recover the captives. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was vacationing with his wife, Sara, in the United States, ignoring the prisoner crisis that continues to unsettle Israeli society.

The messages go beyond prisoners and politicians; they extend to global public opinion, which observes how Gaza, once an isolated city under siege, is now a force imposing its own terms. The world watches as the resistance continues to derail the occupation’s schemes, whether in displacing the population or reoccupying the Strip.

Today, Gaza declares loud and clear: “We are the flood… We are the day after.” This affirms that this land is not a real estate project but a homeland defended by its people for decades—one they will never allow to be taken from them, no matter the cost.