In a dramatic display of power, elite fighters from the Palestinian resistance group Hamas appeared with Israeli Tavor rifles during the handover of four female Israeli soldiers in Gaza City.
The rifles, reportedly seized during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israeli military bases and settlements near Gaza, were prominently featured on podium set up at Palestine Square in Gaza City to hand over the four soldiers.
“Hamas chose to include fighters from an elite unit carrying Tavor rifles from the Israeli army’s elite unit during the handover process,” Amir Bohbot, a military correspondent for the Israeli news web Walla, said, citing a military source.
“These rifles were most likely seized on Oct., 2023,” he added.
Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers early Saturday under the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.
The freed soldiers are members of the Israeli army’s surveillance unit at the Nahal Oz base.
The four freed soldiers wearing the Israeli military uniform smiled and waved on a stage set up at the square as they were transferred to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“The handover event organized by Hamas was meticulously planned and executed at Palestine Square in Gaza City,” the Israeli Channel 12 said.
“Hamas exploited this dramatic moment to convey propaganda messages, erecting a platform in the middle of the square with symbols of the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security service, along with a Hebrew headline: ‘Zionism will not win’.”
Message of superiority
The Israeli channel said long convoys of armed men from Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups streamed into the square since early morning.
“Activists carrying weapons and organization flags were positioned around the central platform in a pre-planned formation to create an image of victory for the cameras broadcasting the release of the captives to the entire world,” it added.
“The carefully chosen setting and decor – Israeli symbols and Hebrew inscriptions – show a planned effort by Hamas to turn the ceremony for the release of the female soldiers into a propaganda show,” the channel said.
“Hamas invested significant resources in designing the square, with the aim of conveying a message of control and superiority.
“The female soldiers were brought to the podium, where they held each other’s hands, smiled and waved,” the channel commented.
Some 200 Palestinian prisoners are also scheduled to be released on Saturday in exchange for the four freed Israeli soldiers.
Under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire day, Israel is planned to withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor area that separates northern Gaza from its south, allowing displaced Palestinian to return to their areas in northern Gaza.
The first six-week phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed nearly 47,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 111,400 since Oct. 7, 2023.
On the first day of the ceasefire, Israel released 90 Palestinian detainees in return for three Israeli captives set free by Hamas.
The three-phase ceasefire agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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