Hamas is emerging from this war with upper hand: Israeli officials
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Former Shin Bet official Adi Carmi says "Israel is now paying the price for failure, catastrophe, and arrogance on October 7, 2023."
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Fighters from the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, gather at a square before handing over four Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025 (AFP)
The Hamas movement "is emerging from this war with the upper hand, having secured a ceasefire while maintaining its authority in the Gaza Strip," the former head of the Operations Division in the Israeli occupation military, Israel Ziv, pointed out during an interview for "Israel’s" Channel 12.
In the same context, former Shin Bet official Adi Carmi considered that "Israel is now paying the price for failure, catastrophe, and arrogance on October 7, 2023."
Speaking to "Israel's" Channel 13, Carmi noted that everything Hamas is doing is "organized, with documentation and names," presenting itself as "dominant, strong, and operating as an organized army."
On Saturday, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released four Israeli female soldiers as part of the second round of the first phase of the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The al-Qassam Brigades handed over the four captives, who were dressed in military uniforms, to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Palestine Square in Gaza City.
The captives appeared alongside members of the al-Qassam Brigades on a platform set up in the square, where a handover agreement was signed between a representative of the Palestinian Resistance group and another from the ICRC.
A couple of hours later, the Israeli Prison Service announced that 200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released in the second phase of the prisoner exchange deal.
A senior Palestinian official informed Al Mayadeen that Algeria, Tunisia, and Turkiye are ready to receive Palestinian detainees who were released on the condition of deportation outside Palestine, however, they must first travel to Egypt.
According to Reuters, citing Palestinian officials, around 70 have been deported to Egypt, another 16 were sent to Gaza, while the remaining detainees will be released to the occupied West Bank.
On Monday, Channel 12 suggested that Hamas remains the sole authority capable of governing the Gaza Strip, even after 15 months of war.
Touching on the "day after", the channel acknowledged "Israel's" failure to achieve its war objectives, which included preventing Hamas from governing or returning to power in Gaza.
Amos Harel, the military affairs analyst for "Israel’s" Haaretz newspaper, commented on the scenes of hundreds of al-Qassam Brigade members just a few kilometers from where Israeli occupation forces had been stationed, saying they "demonstrated its military strength and signs of civil governance."
Read more: Israeli captives' families demand start of second phase negotiations
