JERUSALEM – Scenes of armed and uniformed Hamas terrorists could be seen in Gaza on Sunday as the first of three The Israeli hostages were released With the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli news agency TPS-IL reported that groups of suspected militants in the Deir al-Balah area in the central Gaza Strip celebrated after the ceasefire and were quoted as chanting, “Continuing, God willing, the killing of the last Zionist.” A soldier in our sacred country,” while car horns and music blared.
The agreement could enable Hamas to reorganize its terrorists in Gaza and rebuild the northern part of the Gaza Strip bordering Israel, according to some of the Israeli military experts involved.
Bittersweet jubilation as the first hostages return to Israel after 471 days in captivity
Hamas terrorists appear in a show of force as they escort Red Cross vehicles carrying three Israeli hostages to be released as part of a ceasefire agreement. (TPS-IL)
“Despite significant military achievements against many of the Iranian terrorist proxies surrounding it, Israel was forced to agree to a very bad deal that leaves Hamas in power. As Hamas leaders have repeatedly emphasized, including after the ceasefire was announced, the former spokesman for the forces said Israeli Defense Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told Fox News Digital: “Hamas intends to continue the path of jihad against Israel until Israel is completely eliminated.”
He continued: “Israel is under gunpoint by the terrorist organization Hamas and has agreed to release nearly 2,000 convicted Palestinian terrorists, withdraw from the Gaza Strip and temporarily cease fire in order to return 33 Israeli hostages to their homeland.”
Following the initial announcement of a deal last week, Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, reportedly bragged that his movement was planning to commit a second massacre of Israelis on October 7, according to one report. Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) Translation of his notes.
He reportedly bragged about the first massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis, including more than 40 Americans, on October 7, 2023, and announced plans to launch new mass killings. Al-Hayya said: “The seventh of October will remain a source of pride for our people and our resistance, and it will be passed down from generation to generation.”
Hamas terrorists emerge from the shadows as they surround Red Cross vehicles. (TPS-IL)
He said that the jihadist organization will expel Israel from Palestine and Jerusalem, and that this will happen soon, adding, “We will never forget and we will never forgive,” pledging that Israel's crimes will be punished, “even if it takes a long time.”
Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said: “Given the overwhelming international pressure applied to Israel over the past 15 months, which has prevented Israel from exerting the required amount of influence and pressure on Hamas in Gaza, it is unfortunate that the blackmail deal may “It would be the best way to rescue the Israeli hostages.”
Retired Brigadier General in the Israeli Defense Forces. Gen. Amir Afifi Reyes told Fox News Digital that at this point, the government is prioritizing the return of the hostages. It is clear that the matter is urgent. “Their situation is very bad,” he added. He added, “The government intends to return to fighting after the first phase unless another ceasefire is reached to obtain all the hostages.” But there is no intention to give up on destroying Hamas and creating a new reality in Gaza.”
Hamas gunmen wave to Gazans during the release of three Israeli hostages on Sunday. (TPS-IL)
Carolyn Glick, a conservative Israeli commentator who has good experience with the Jewish state's campaign to defeat Hamas, said: On her podcast, “What we are facing now is a situation where we are constantly forced into this situation where we are not allowed to win because that is what a ceasefire is effectively doing to Israel.”
The ceasefire agreement for the hostages comes at a time when Israel has greatly degraded Hamas' military strength. Hamas is in a weak position. Hezbollah is Hamas's main ally in the region. Breaking the ceasefire agreement With Israel and removed one of the Iranian-backed fronts against the Jewish state.
The Iranian regime has not launched any new strikes against Israel since Jerusalem responded to its air attack in October.
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Suspected terrorists in Gaza emerge from their hideouts as the implementation of a ceasefire agreement for hostages begins in the Deir al-Balah area of Gaza. (Magdy Fathi/TPS-IL)
The agreement includes deep concessions to Israel. The Jewish state will release up to 2,000 Palestinian terrorists, including more than a hundred serving life sentences.
This prediction is based on previous releases of Palestinian terrorists of Israeli hostages involved in Palestinian killers returning to fight Israel.
An estimated 20,000 terrorists from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups were killed in the war, TPS-IL reported on Monday. On Sunday, it was also reported that Izz al-Din Haddad, the commander of Hamas' Northern Brigade, who oversaw the transfer of three Israeli hostages on Sunday to the Red Cross, had been appointed as Hamas' leader in rebuilding the terrorist organization.
