The ominous moment when Hamas gunmen appeared to grunt “keep blowing” as they handed over Israeli hostages to Red Cross workers at the weekend sparked outrage among Israeli officials, who condemned the Palestinian group’s “propaganda”.
Images published by official Hamas channels and distributed by Reuters show a group of hostages being led to Red Cross trucks to be taken across the border and back to safety.
At first it looked exactly like one of the many surrender clips released by the Palestinian group, which yesterday negotiated an additional two-day ceasefire until more hostages are released to prevent further Israeli bombings.
But whyAlthough Hamas wants to project an image of humane treatment, one of the masked militants, brandishing an automatic rifle, menacingly says, “Keep waving,” as he piles his charges into the back of a van.
Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for the Israeli government, said in a post
“You hear the terrorist say in a menacing voice: ‘Keep blowing’.
Although many hostages returned physically relatively unscathed, most suffered weight loss and described harsh conditions in captivity. Several children transferred by Hamas were separated from their parents, who were either killed or remained in captivity.
One prisoner, 84-year-old Elma Avraham, was released in a serious condition and is now fighting for her life as she lacked essential medication during her 50-day ordeal, while another 21-year-old, Maya Regev , was released. Came back Sunday night with a gunshot wound.
We see two Israeli hostages waving to their captives as they are loaded into the back of a Red Cross van
Several clips released by Hamas show the moment the hostages were handed over
In this clip, the masked Hamas fighter appears to say “keep blowing.”
The heartbreaking moment Maya was reunited with her family was also captured in bittersweet images over the weekend.
Maya was one of 58 hostages released by Hamas in the last four days of the ceasefire between the Israeli army and the Palestinian group.
Who has the “missing” Israeli hostages? Palestinian Islamic Jihad – which wants the destruction of Israel – has “dozens” of prisoners, including a 10-month-old baby… and it is feared others are being held by gang members
She was abducted from the Nova music festival – where 364 people died when armed Hamas fighters poured across the border on motorbikes, trucks and paragliders – but not before taking a stray bullet.
Despite her injuries, Maya managed to stay alive and spent around 50 days in detention before she was finally released on Saturday night. Horrific photos show her being dragged from a Red Cross van by masked Hamas fighters and escorted as she shuffles. almost on crutches.
In the clip, Maya can be heard sobbing as she hugged her family as she sat in her hospital bed, rejoicing at her release and in the company of her loved ones, but also mourning her teenage brother Itay, 18, who lives in Hamas . imprisonment is.
Itay is one of several Hamas hostages that the terrorist group says it cannot find.
While some hostages were held by Hamas officials, others were divided by civilian groups or armed gangs and transported out of Gaza, said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who led efforts to broker a ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas. .
As the IDF continues operations in Gaza to try to locate and rescue the remaining hostages, Maya is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the damage caused by the gunshot wound.
According to Soroka Hospital’s staff, Dr. Shlomi Kodesh told the Israeli news agency i24 News that her life is not in danger, but that an operation is necessary for Maya to fully recover.
A Hamas fighter and Red Cross medics help Israeli hostage Maya Regev, recently released in the Gaza Strip, into a Red Cross vehicle
Maya, a Nova music festival goer, was shot and then kidnapped on October 7
Her reunion with family members at Soroka Hospital in the Israeli city of Be’er-Sheva, captured on heartbreaking video footage, was bittersweet
Medical staff watch as Maya hugs her family members before the operation
Like Maya, several of the hostages released by Hamas over the weekend face a dark new reality.
Although they have been granted freedom, they now bear the burden of knowing that other members of their family are still in captivity or, worse, were slaughtered on October 7.
Two of these recently released hostages are siblings Noam and Alma Or, 16 and 13 years old.
They were greeted by happy grandparents and their older brother Yali (18) on Saturday before undergoing a medical examination after a long period of detention.
But the teenagers’ joy at regaining their freedom quickly faded when they learned that their mother, Yonat, had been shot dead by Hamas attackers on October 7 at Kibbutz Be’eri.
Uncle Ahal Besorai, a British-Israeli lawyer, told the Guardian how the children broke down when they heard their mother’s fate.
“Unfortunately, they did not know that my sister, their mother, had been killed,” he said.
“They suddenly visit their loved ones for the first time in fifty days and the first news they are confronted with is that their mother is no longer alive. “I think it was very traumatic, there were a lot of tears, a lot of pain.”
The youngest hostage released at the weekend – four-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Edan – also lost both parents in the attacks on 7 October.
“What she endured was unimaginable,” Biden said of the first American to be released under the armistice. He knew nothing of their condition and gave no information about other American hostages.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
