Hamas turns captives release scenes into humiliation for 'Israel': WSJ
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Regional analysts say Hamas has made each round of captive releases in Gaza increasingly elaborate, using them as a show of strength to embarrass the Israeli occupation.
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Israeli soldier Agam Berger waves to the crowd as she is handed over to the Red Cross by Islamic Jihad militants at the devastated Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City, on January 30, 2025. (AP)
Hamas used the prisoner-captive exchange deal as a spectacle to assert its control over the Gaza Strip, sending a clear message that "Israel" is powerless to stop it, a Wall Street Journal report on Friday highlighted.
The WSJ wrote that the pattern began two weeks ago when the first Israeli captives were released as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Armed Hamas soldiers released captives on Thursday in front of the rubble of martyr Yahya al-Sinwar's house.
According to The Wall Street Journal report, this time, the captives faced difficulties exiting Hamas vehicles as crowds gathered again to receive and photograph them. The Red Cross vehicles were not present, leaving the captives to navigate through the crowds with their armed militants providing protection.
Read next: Hamas did not lose control in Gaza: Israeli media
Regional analysts say Hamas has turned each round of captive releases in Gaza into a more complex event, using it as a display of power to humiliate the Israeli occupation.
According to the report, "Israel" responded angrily to the spectacle, announcing it would not release 110 Palestinian detainees as agreed in the deal. However, mediators, including the US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, quickly intervened to ensure the agreement remained intact. Ultimately, "Israel" released the detainees.
With its military operations paused and troops positioned on Gaza's outskirts, "Israel" has little ability to stop Hamas from turning captive releases into public displays. That said, Hugh Lovatt, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, noted that Hamas aims to "demonstrate its strength and prestige in Gaza."
'Hamas is Gaza, and Gaza is Hamas'
On Friday, Israeli anger and concerns emerged when Hamas documented its prisoner exchanges in a manner that suited it, dismissing the occupation's demands that it withdraw its forces and elements, while also disregarding a key Israeli demand to withhold the deployment of police officers throughout the Gaza Strip.
Yossi Yehoshua, Yedioth Ahronoth's military analyst, said, "There is no authority alternative in Gaza; Gaza is Hamas, and Hamas is Gaza," adding that Donald Trump's plot to implement "voluntary evacuations" from Gaza must be considered in the absence of other solutions.
He also discussed the situation in the West Bank, saying it currently poses the greatest danger to Israelis.
"Tulkarm is one meter away from Kafaruna. They have organized battalions, like the Jenin Battalion and the Tulkarm Battalion. We wake up in the morning to a siren, which lasts for three or four hours, with a distance of no more than 3 km," Yehoshua stated, noting that the possibility of another October 7 is "dangerously tangible" in the West Bank.
Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the scenes from Gaza on Thursday, saying, "The images coming from Gaza confirm that what has happened so far was not a complete victory but a complete failure."
Ben-Gvir further stated that "this prisoner exchange deal is unprecedented, and the Israeli government has chosen the path of submission," referring to the concessions made by the regime to secure the release of Israeli captives.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Avigdor Lieberman, stated that "the images from Gaza prove that we must separate from it forever." Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also expressed concern, saying, "We are worried about the price we are paying for this deal, despite our joy at the return of the hostages."
