[When Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, released its propaganda video of three Israeli hostages being released, a striking detail caught the attention of onlookers. As Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari got into a Red Cross SUV in Gaza City, a Hamas militant handed each of them a paper bag with the Qassam Brigades’ logo on it, a “gift bag” of sorts. A masked militant then held up a certificate that, in Hebrew and Arabic, read “release decision.”
Each of the three women was carrying the bag in footage released later by the Israel Defense Forces – albeit this time with the Qassam Brigades logo blurred. A representative of Gonen’s family told CNN that the bag she received held a certificate, a necklace, and photos, and that Israel’s Internal Security Agency (the Shin Bet) had confiscated the materials. They would not go into detail about the photo, but Israeli media reports that the photos depicted the women’s time in captivity.
The bizarre gesture was an attempt by Hamas to present itself as a serious and legitimate governing body, 15 months after staging its devastating attack on Israel. The Qassam Brigades’ logo on the gift bag and the certificate was a message to Israelis, Gazans, and those watching around the world: “We are a legitimate governing body, still in charge, who have serious and legal protocols – even if they pertain to Israeli civilians taken by force from their homes.”
The message was clear, and the images will fuel both the extremist right-wing in Israel, who believe the ceasefire is a capitulation, and those who favor dialogue, who will argue that if 15 months of unrelenting war failed to dislodge Hamas, further bloodshed is folly. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, admitted that Israel “hadn’t met the objective” of dismantling Hamas’ military and government, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, warned that Israel was far from meeting its goal.
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