The Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Movement, Ziad Al-Nakhalah, sent a letter to the six heroes of Operation Freedom Tunnel, on the first anniversary of the operation.

Addressing the six prisoners, Al-Nakhalah said, "Your miraculous deed ignited a new revolution and ignited bullets across the land that did not surrender to occupation."

"Last year, on this day, the occupation soldiers were chasing you throughout Palestine, and your destination was Jenin, which we love," he added.

It has been one year since six #Palestinian prisoners carried out a heroic operation whereby they broke out of the Israeli #Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug underground to the outside.#Palestine #FreedomTunnelOperation pic.twitter.com/0MOacJNqKr

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 6, 2022

In his letter, Al-Nakhalah affirmed that with their operation, the heroic prisoners boosted the morale of the resistance of the Palestinian people.

"Your freedom, which you created by your own free will, has once again ignited the spark of resistance," the PIJ Secretary-General told the six prisoners, adding that "this spark has been in action for a year now, and no one can stop the will that emerged from Operation Freedom Tunnel."

Israelis were baffled, to say the least, as they looked at the tunnel dug underneath them in one of the most heroic prison breaks that shook Israeli security complex to its core.

Here's the Israeli shock after the #FreedomTunnelOperation.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/jZ3rhKuLFv

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 6, 2022

Al-Nakhalah pointed to the role of Operation Freedom Tunnel in forming an awareness of resistance and victory among the Palestinian generations, assuring the six prisoners that they removed fear and planted hope in the hearts of the rising generations, from the midst of silence, destruction of homes, cancerous Israeli settlements, and the killer IOF patrols.

The resistance's audience commemorated the first anniversary of Operation Freedom Tunnel through several activities. During an interview with Al Mayadeen Net, liberated Arab prisoners from Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan expressed their pride in Operation Freedom Tunnel, which broke the prestige of the Israeli occupation.

The liberated prisoners stressed that the six prisoners not only challenged and broke the will of the occupation, but also drew a new model for the open confrontation between the prisoners and the Israeli occupation forces.

On the morning of September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners broke out of the high-security Israeli Gilboa prison through a tunnel they dug, which led them outside the prison walls before they were arrested.

The Freedom Tunnel prisoners are Mahmoud Al-Aridah, Zakaria Al-Zubaidi, Yaqoub Qadri, Mohammad Al-Aridah, Ayham Kamamji, and Munadel Nafi'at.

Mahmoud Al-Aridah and Yaqoub Qadri were re-arrested four days later, on September 10, 2021 in Al-Nasra. Zakaria Al-Zubaidi and Mohammad Al-Aridah were re-arrested the next day, and Ayham Kamamji and Mundadel Nafi'at on Sunday the 19th, after the house they had barricaded themselves in, east of Jenin, was surrounded.

Read more: Al-Aridah: Al Mayadeen to unveil the truth of Freedom Tunnel