Liberated Palestinian children, families speak to Al Mayadeen

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
27 Nov 2023 20:26

The father of Nofouz Hammad speaks to Al Mayadeen as his daughter remains in an unconfirmed location following "Israel's" violation of the prisoners-captives exchange deal.

A bus transporting Red Cross staff and liberated Palestinian prisoners drives to its final destination as waves of supporters celebrate the Resistance's victory, waving the flags of Palestinian Resistance factions and the Palestinian flag in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank, Palestine, on November 26, 2023. (AFP)

Parents of freed Palestinian children spoke to Al Mayadeen on Monday following their liberation from Israeli prisons, which is part of a prisoner exchange deal imposed by the Palestinian Resistance on Israeli authorities.

However, the case of one Palestinian prisoner Nofouz Hammad, the youngest among female prisoners, remains controversial.

Jad Hammad, the father of Nofouz Hammad, confirmed that "an Israeli organization demanded that the Israeli army not to release [Nofouz]," adding that the family is "living in a nightmare, and wants to check up" on her, knowing that she was supposed to be released yesterday.

Nofouz was excluded from the list of prisoners that were set to be released on Saturday and her whereabouts remained unknown. Freed prisoners told her father that his daughter was present with them until around 8:00 pm on Saturday when she was later taken by Israeli occupation forces to an unknown location.

However, earlier today, Hamas revealed that Nofouz's name is included in the list of prisoners scheduled to be released today.

During an interview for Al Mayadeen Hammad said, citing eyewitnesses, that his daughter was recently seen in a hospital, saying that it is likely that Noufouz was physically abused by Israeli occupation forces.

According to the official Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA), Nofouz was transferred to Hadassah Hospital in occupied al-Quds after she was assaulted.

Her father revealed that he was told that Nofouz is currently in the Israeli "Damon" prison. It is worth noting that the Hammad family are residents of the Sheikh Jarrah area in occupied al-Quds, which has seen a fierce Israeli campaign for its Judaization.

Liberated children speak to Al Mayadeen

On another note, Ibrahim Thafer, a 17-year-old liberated prisoner thanked via Al Mayadeen the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as their leaders. Ibrahim who was under administrative detention by the occupation offered his condolences to the Palestinian martyrs.

Ibrahim shed light on the brutality that Israeli occupation forces subjected Palestinian detainees to, confirming "continuous physical abuse" and adding that the occupation denied prisoners their rights.

The freed prisoner said the occupation deliberately employed oppressive measures to stop prisoners from sleeping.

He revealed that Israeli violations against prisoners increased after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was launched on October 7.

On their part, the two siblings and liberated prisoners, Nasrallah and Qassam A'war, also spoke to Al Mayadeen following their release.

Nasrallah, whose father named him after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said, "Our joy stemming from our liberation will be crowned after the release of the rest of the prisoners from Israeli prisons."

Nasrallah said the occupation demanded that freed prisoners "do not celebrate" the occasion, threatening to detain them once again.

Their father, Iyad A'war, stressed that the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza "offered utmost sacrifices," emphasizing that the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon and the Yemeni Armed Forces also did the same.

During his conversation with Al Mayadeen, A'war stressed "the need for unity, in order to [effectively] confront the Israeli occupation."

When talking about the period of Nasrallah and Qassam’s detention, the father, a former prisoner who was prevented by the occupation from visiting his two sons, confirmed that he "did not know anything about them during the past three months.”

He pointed out that the recent arrest of his two sons was not the first, as the occupation had arrested them before when they were as young as five to question them.

He added that he named his son Qassam after the martyr Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam, following the aggression against the Gaza Strip in 2004, while he named his son Nasrallah after the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, following the war on Lebanon in July 2006.