Four Israeli female soldiers were released by Hamas in Gaza City on Saturday morning, marking the start of a second week of a protracted ceasefire and hostage release deal that has halted 15 months of fighting and delivered Hamas a new platform to project optics of power. The highly choreographed event showed the women, dressed in army-green outfits, being forced by their captors to take the stage, smile and raise their arms for a gaggle of cameras, before being transferred to the Red Cross vans that would bring them home to Israel.
The Palestinian militant movement Hamas released four female Israeli soldier hostages on Saturday in return for 200 Palestinian prisoners, in keeping with the ceasefire agreement in the 15-month-old war in Gaza. The four Israelis were led onto a podium in Gaza City amid a large crowd of Palestinians and surrounded by dozens of armed Hamas men. They waved and smiled before being led off, entering Red Cross vehicles to be transported to Israeli forces. Soon after, buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were seen departing from the Israeli Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank. Israel's Prison Service said all 200 had been released. The releases on either side were greeted by cheering crowds, including Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv and Palestinians assembled in Ramallah. The swap was the second to take place under the truce, following an initial release on the ceasefire's first day, Jan. 19.
In a carefully choreographed stunt in central Gaza City, the four women smiled, waved and gave a thumbs-up on stage, as they were presented to a crowd of Hamas fighters brandishing assault rifles and grenade launchers. Later on Saturday, the hostages safely crossed the border into Israel to be reunited with their families. While the Hamas footage of the release was clearly intended to show the women in high spirits, earlier videos of their capture and imprisonment showed them covered in cuts and bruises, with one bleeding through her trousers. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said of the stunt: “Hamas is a murderous terror group. In the last few hours Hamas proved its cruelty by organising a cynical ceremony.”
