Hamas Archives - Page 17 of 32

Released Israeli Female Soldiers Thank Hamas Fighters For Their Good Treatment

CrossFireArabia
January 25, 2025

The Al-Qassam Brigades published a video clip, Saturday evening, showing 4 Israeli female soldiers released, expressing their gratitude in Arabic to the Palestinian factions for the good treatment they received during their captivity and for preserving their lives despite the violent Israeli bombardment.

The video, which was broadcast by Al-Qassam via its Telegram account, shows the female soldiers in a car while they were being transported to be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel with international and regional mediation.

While they were inside the car before the handover, the female soldiers expressed their gratitude to the Al-Qassam Brigades for the good treatment they received.

One of them said: “Peace be upon you, thank you to the Al-Qassam Brigades for the good treatment.”

Another added: “Thank you for the food, drink and clothes.”

A third female soldier thanked the faction fighters who were “protecting us and protecting us from the bombardment.”

While the fourth expressed her wish that this day would be “a happy day for everyone.”

At the end of the clip, the female soldiers were seen chanting loudly the date “January 25,” which was the day of their release, near the Gaza beach, where the video was filmed before they were handed over to the Red Cross.

On Saturday afternoon, Hamas released 4 Israeli female soldiers and handed them over to the Red Cross, which in turn handed them over to the Israeli side, as part of the second batch of the first phase of the exchange deal and ceasefire in Gaza.

In exchange for each Israeli female soldier, 50 Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged, including 30 serving life sentences and 20 serving long sentences, according to what a Hamas source told Anadolu Agency, Saturday.

In total, Israel currently holds more than 10,300 Palestinian prisoners in its prisons, and it is estimated that there are about 96 Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

The Gaza ceasefire agreement, which went into effect on January 19, included a deal to release Israeli prisoners in Gaza in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

In the first phase of the agreement, which consists of three stages, each lasting 42 days, the terms stipulate the gradual release of 33 Israelis held in Gaza, whether alive or dead, in exchange for a number of Palestinian detainees estimated between 1,700 and 2,000.

Indeed, the first exchange, which took place on the first day of the agreement, saw the release of three female Israeli civilian prisoners in exchange for 90 male and female Palestinian child detainees, all from the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem according to the Anadolu news agency.

With American support, Israel committed genocide in Gaza between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2025, leaving more than 158,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing, and one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

News

Israel Kills More Than 15,000 Pupils in Gaza

CrossFireArabia
January 22, 2025

The Ministry of Education in the Gaza Strip announced, Wednesday, the genocide committed by Israel over the course of more than 15 months resulted in the killing and disappearance of more than 15,000 Palestinian school-age children, and the targeting of 95 percent of school and educational buildings.

The ministry said in a statement: “Initial statistics indicate the martyrdom and disappearance of more than 15,000 school-age children, more than 800 education sector workers, and the injury of 50,000 male and female students.”

It added: “The horrific number of martyrs is equivalent to a mass extermination of human elements, students and workers in more than 30 schools, which reflects the extent of the crimes committed against children and educational staff.”

It explained that the genocide resulted in the killing of 1,200 male and female students enrolled in higher education institutions, more than 150 scientists, academics and workers in those institutions, and hundreds were injured and disabled.

The ministry confirmed that 95 percent of school and educational buildings were directly damaged, while 85 percent of them were completely or partially out of service due to their destruction.

It indicated that the Israeli army destroyed more than 140 administrative and academic facilities, including devices, equipment, laboratories, clinics and libraries.

The ministry estimated losses of the education sector at more than $3 billion.

It explained thousands of children were exposed to shocking experiences and unprecedented psychological pressures, which led to the emergence of psychological symptoms and trauma that require specialized interventions.

The ministry announced the completion of emergency response plans for the next stage, which includes completing the 2023/2024 school year and opening the 2024/2025 school year.

The ministry called on media outlets and human rights institutions to document the “Israeli crimes” against children and depriving them of their right to education, and to prosecute Tel Aviv before international bodies and courts.

It also appealed to supporting bodies and partner institutions to provide urgent and necessary support to relieve and rehabilitate the educational sector.

With American support, Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip between October 7, 2023 and January 19, 2025, leaving more than 158,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.

Last Sunday, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect, and its first phase will last for 42 days, during which negotiations will begin to start a second and then a third phase, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.

Israel has turned Gaza into the largest prison in the world, as it has besieged it for the last 18 years, and the genocide has forced about two million of its citizens, numbering about 2.3 million Palestinians, to flee in tragic conditions with a deliberate severe shortage of food, water and medicine.

Features

Israel-Jailed Khalida Jarrar is Out But at What Cost?

CrossFireArabia
January 22, 2025

Freed Palestinian leader, politician, and activist Khalida Jarrar said Israeli authorities do not treat Palestinian prisoners as human beings, describing the conditions in jails as “the worst and most difficult since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967.”

In the early hours of Monday, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement that suspended its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has claimed more than 47,000 lives since Oct. 7, 2023, and left the enclave in ruins.

Jarrar, who was held in administrative detention in December 2023, was among those set free. It came after three female Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza were released. Administrative detention is a policy that allows Israeli authorities to hold individuals without charge or trial.

Khalida Jarrar is free after over 5 months of solitary confinement!! Glory to the Resistance! pic.twitter.com/DcgWyV3xVY
— أميرة (@amiratalshaab) January 20, 2025

Speaking to Anadolu, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who has been arrested multiple times, said Israeli prison conditions “have never been as harsh as they are now, be it the repeated assaults or constant use of tear gas.”

Describing the state of prisons in Israel, Jarrar said the Palestinians endure “poor quality and insufficient quantity of food, as well as the solitary confinement policy practiced by the occupation authorities.”

“I spent six months in solitary confinement,” she said, adding that “many Palestinians are held in solitary cells in very harsh conditions.”

The senior politician said what is happening in Israeli prisons is a result of policies by the current Israeli government and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister who resigned after the Gaza truce, trying “to deal with the prisoners as if they are not humans.”

As Jarrar, 61, was led through a cheering crowd, it could be seen her once-dark hair had grayed, and she looked exhausted.

“We were subjected to extreme harshness and physical assault in a deliberate and intentional attempt to humiliate and demean us,” she said.

The lawmaker stressed that the prisoners’ cause is “an integral part of our people’s causes,” and all Israeli policies against the prisoners must be confronted nationally.

Jarrar was elected as a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last parliamentary elections held in 2006. She has served as the head of the assembly’s prisoners commission and was also appointed to the Palestinian committee for follow-up with the International Criminal Court.

Jarrar was arrested by the Israeli army several times on accusations of affiliation to an “outlawed” party and for her role in activities supporting Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

According to prisoners’ affairs groups, she was repeatedly mistreated by prison guards, affecting her well-being.

Estimates put the number of Palestinian detainees at Israeli prisons at over 11,000.

Khalida Jarrar, the imprisoned leader, academic and struggler for Palestinian prisoners, emerges liberated after 5 months and 1 week in solitary confinement in the occupation prisons, freed by the Resistance in the Flood of the Free! pic.twitter.com/2UZSexWEeH
— Samidoun Network (@SamidounPP) January 20, 2025

Hamas released the three Israeli captives under the ceasefire deal, which took effect on Sunday.

The three-phase deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Analyses

Israeli Media: Hamas is The Only Power That Can Rule Gaza

CrossFireArabia
January 21, 2025

Israeli Channel 12 acknowledged that the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, is still the only force in the Gaza Strip capable of ruling, 15 months after the war.

Speaking about “the next day,” the channel acknowledged Israel’s failure to achieve its goals in the war, as the objective was “not to allow Hamas to rule or return,” but “we saw yesterday it still has this ability.”

This views was expressed in referrence to scenes of the Qassam Brigades coming out among the people and handing over the Israeli female prisoners.

The TV channel concluded that there is no other force in Gaza with the same ability, which allows Hamas to return, and restricts the ability of the Israeli army to operate, according to its expression, so “Israel cannot even evade this goal now.”

In a related context, Channel 12 estimated that Israel will not resume fighting in Gaza, stressing that the Palestinian resistance can continue fighting forever, and is capable of “recruiting” individuals.

Likewise, the military affairs analyst for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Amos Harel, commented on the appearance of hundreds of Qassam Brigades members a few kilometers away from the place where the Israeli army forces were located, saying, “Hamas demonstrated its military strength and signs of civil rule by displaying it.”

The Israeli military correspondent for Channel 12, Lila Shoval, said that the agreement on the ceasefire in Gaza does not guarantee the achievement of the two goals that Israel has set for itself, that of eliminating Hamas and recovering the prisoners according to JO24.

Features

Israel’s Masked Gangs in Gaza

CrossFireArabia
January 6, 2025

As part of its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Israel is attempting to destroy the security and justice structures in the enclave by undermining public order. Israel’s inhumane strategy is designed to guarantee the Palestinians’ annihilation of one another without resorting to direct military action itself.

In order to spread chaos and insecurity as part of its genocidal war and create disastrous conditions that will result in the destruction of Palestinians in the Strip as a whole, the Israeli army has attempted to target members of the security and civil police forces as well as individuals working to coordinate the entry of humanitarian aid. Since the start of its genocide on 7 October 2023, Israel has been targeting members of these groups or teams while they are working and even while they are in their homes or shelters.

Chaos

The state of chaos brought about by the breakdown of the security system due to the Israeli army’s permitting of organized gangs to enter areas under its military control in order to steal humanitarian aid has resulted in the concerning rise of armed groups. These groups are composed of masked individuals who carry out coordinated attacks against civilians under a variety of pretexts, including “defending aid”, in egregious violation of civilians’ basic rights and dignity, which are guaranteed by international law.

Due to the chaos and the breakdown of the security system in the Gaza Strip, some families have started using weapons to settle disputes among themselves. This has resulted in the rise of individual retaliation and the spread of disputes and revenge through illegal means.

In addition to being a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law, Israel’s approach makes the population’s dire humanitarian situation worse. Israel’s 15-month-long genocide in Gaza has systematically destroyed civilian infrastructure, undermining political institutions and increasing the suffering of the civilian populace in ways never seen before in Gaza.

Masked Men

The Euro-Med Monitor field team has documented numerous instances in which anonymous masked men handcuffed individuals and physically assaulted or shot them—under the guise of these individuals’ involvement in thefts, attacks on private property and aid trucks, or trafficking in stolen goods—either by severely beating them or shooting them in the limbs. These actions are occurring outside of the legal system, i.e. without any legal processes to protect the rights of the accused, including their right to an investigation into accusations made against them. This is a blatant violation of fundamental rights and human dignity, and represents a grave lack of justice.

The systematic Israeli targeting of the police and security systems in the Gaza Strip makes it crucial to find effective mechanisms to control security and maintain community peace. However, any measures must be implemented within the approved legal frameworks, guaranteeing respect for people’s human dignity and the protection of their basic rights without any violations or transgressions.

Deliberate Destruction

The aforementioned violations are part of a deliberate Israeli strategy to destroy the Gaza Strip’s security and justice system by bombing official and makeshift police stations, judicial institutions, and police officers and staff, including local security personnel representing private companies or civil committees. The targeting of Palestinian courts and prisons by gangs backed by Israel in an effort to sow disarray and undermine stability is another example of the violations.

In addition to impairing the police’s capacity to maintain internal security, the Israeli occupation army’s frequent targeting of police officers or their makeshift checkpoints strikes fear in the hearts of the populace and keeps them from using these checkpoints to lodge complaints, which encourages the use of force and increases the tendency for people to take matters into their own hands, further destabilising the weakened security situation.

It is essential to uphold the values of justice and human dignity and to guarantee that those suspected of violating them are treated humanely and with discipline.

Regulating this situation and ensuring that any party tasked with upholding community security follows the law and respects human dignity are obligations of the Gaza Strip’s authorities and the relevant Palestinian factions, particularly Hamas. However, the international community must apply more pressure on Israel to cease attacking the Strip’s justice system and police, which are vital civil institutions. Ending Israel’s crime of genocide and all of its manifestations, including direct and indirect acts intended to systematically exterminate the Palestinian people, is the radical solution to all humanitarian crises in the enclave.

Euro-Med Monitor emphasizes that justice and dignity for the Palestinian people can only be attained by putting an end to Israel’s persistent crimes and violations.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor