Palestinian armed faction Hamas is causing controversy by forcing Israeli hostages to give 'thank you speeches' upon their release.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 8th (local time), Hamas returned three Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners. Before releasing the hostages, Hamas put them in vehicles and drove them around the city of Deir al-Balah, then stood them on an outdoor stage.
The hostages, standing among masked and armed Hamas fighters, were forced to hold certificates of release and give thank you speeches. Eli Sharabi (52), who had been held hostage for 16 months, said he was happy to reunite with his family, but his wife and two daughters were killed during Hamas's terror attack on October 7, 2023. It appears Sharabi was unaware of this fact.
Despite the return of the hostages, the atmosphere inside Israel remains tense. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said of the released Israeli hostages, "It reminds me of survivors of the Jewish Holocaust under Nazi Germany." The gaunt appearance of the Hamas hostages evokes images of emaciated Jewish prisoners in Nazi forced labor camps.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defined Hamas's act of forcing thank you speeches as a violation of the ceasefire agreement and ordered "appropriate measures" to be taken. According to the NYT's analysis, there is likely to be considerable public opinion in favor of resuming the war after the first phase of the ceasefire expires on the 2nd of next month.
According to the ceasefire agreement reached last month, Hamas and Israel will stop fighting for six weeks in the first phase, exchange hostages and prisoners, and then begin discussions on the second and third phases of the ceasefire, including the release of Israeli soldiers and a permanent ceasefire. However, there is significant public opinion within Israel that a ceasefire is impossible as long as Hamas remains in power. The unethical behavior Hamas showed during the hostage release process is likely to provoke Israel's conservative factions.
Hamas's act of forcing thank you speeches before releasing the hostages appears to be an internal message directed at the Palestinian people. Despite suffering heavy damage to the point where its leadership was nearly destroyed in the Gaza war, Hamas still controls the Gaza Strip. In fact, Hamas claimed in a statement about the hostage release that "the resistance of the Palestinian people holds superiority over Israel."
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