Hamas-Fried-Over-Consumption of Gaza City’s Prisoner’s Retention After More Than 15 Months of War

The women were freed as part of a deal mediated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, which brought about a six-week ceasefire that began last Sunday after more than 15 months of war in Gaza. It went ahead despite anger in Israel that Hamas still held civilians despite agreeing in the ceasefire deal to release them before soldiers.

Liri Albag, 19; Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20 and Naama Levy, 20, were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on Saturday morning, and then transferred to an Israeli convoy to be driven across the border into Israel, the Israeli military said.

The handover to the Red Cross took place on Palestine Square in Gaza City in a Hamas-run military-style ceremony. Phalanxes of armed fighters in uniform, wearing black balaclavas and signature green headbands, were arrayed around the square. Spectators clambered on rubble and wrecked vehicles to get a look, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags.

The Hamas-organized event was in sharp contrast to the first handover of hostages last Sunday, when three Israeli civilian women were released amidst an unruly crowd.

The four young women, who were in their pajamas when they were taken captive 476 days ago, were paraded in soldiers’ uniforms onto a stage at the head of the square in Gaza City. Behind them banners with slogans condemned Israel.

During a brief appearance, two hostages held each other’s hands. Some smiled and waved, raising their arms and giving a thumbs up in front of the crowd. The proceedings were broadcast on Israeli television.

Despite a war in which thousands of its fighters and civilians were killed and the Gaza Strip was reduced to rubble, Hamas used the handing over of hostages to the Red Cross twice last week to show that it is still strong in charge of the territory.

The four women released on Saturday were serving as field observers in Unit 414 of the Field Intelligence Battalion when Hamas militants stormed their base on the border with Gaza and set it on fire.

A group of soldiers were taken captive from the base on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Agam Berger is one of the three who weren’t part of Saturday’s handover. Ori Megidish had his body recovered by Israeli troops in Gaza in a military operation that ended in October of this year.

Their fate has raised questions in Israel about the military’s failure to prevent the Hamas attack. Members of the female observer team had warned repeatedly that Hamas fighters appeared to be engaging in maneuvers suggesting that an attempt to infiltrate into Israel was imminent, but the warnings were not taken seriously by male commanders.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman of the Israeli military, said Hamas proved its “cruelty” during Saturday’s handover, which he described as a “cynical ceremony.”

The hostages, all soldiers who were lookouts at a base on the Gaza border and abducted from there on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack on Israel, arrived to the square in a convoy of midsize sport utility vehicles. They were led onto the stage, clothed in military-style fatigues, which seemed intended to make a point that these hostages were soldiers, not civilians.

The handover of four hostages on Saturday was an even more performative stunt than the one last Sunday, when three other female hostages were released.

The Hamas stage in Gaza City: Israel’s bombing campaign and the fate of Zionism in a city that cannot be conquered

The Hamas set up a stage in Palestine Square in the middle of Gaza City, which was devastated by Israel’s bombing campaign. The stage held a banner bearing a message in Hebrew: “Zionism will not win.” Hundreds of masked, uniformed fighters and civilians gathered nearby.