Hamas turns hostage releases into a humiliating spectacle for Israel
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Hamas wants to send the world the message that it is still in charge in the Gaza Strip. Its method: turning the release of hostages into a spectacle that Israel is powerless to stop.
The pattern began about two weeks ago, when the first Israeli hostages were released under a cease-fire agreement that includes the freeing of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Crowds of jeering men crowded around the Hamas trucks carrying the Israeli hostages. When the women got out, they ran to Red Cross officials waiting in nearby vehicles to take them home.
On Thursday, the militants upped the ante. They released two civilian hostages—a 29-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man—in front of the rubble of the home of Yahya Sinwar, the now-dead mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre in 2023.
This time, the hostages struggled to exit Hamas vehicles as crowds again turned out to greet them, cellphones out aiming for shots of the captives. The Red Cross vehicles weren’t nearby this time, forcing the hostages to wade through throngs of people seemingly on the cusp of attacking them. The hostages’ only protection was their armed captors, members of a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
Hamas is making each round of hostage releases in Gaza an increasingly elaborate event, showcasing their strength and humiliating their enemy—but also threatening to derail the fragile cease-fire in the strip, regional analysts said. “Hamas is trying to make the release of the hostages look like a show," said Yossi Kuperwasser, former head of research for Israel’s military intelligence, adding that the move would backfire on Hamas. “Everyone is looking at the disrespectful way they treat the hostages." Israel reacted furiously to the
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