Freed Hostage Omer Shem Tov Reunited with His Family (GPO)
The Israeli government has suspended the release of another 602 Hamas terrorists held in Israeli prisons as planned due to the way in which Hamas “humiliated” Israeli hostages during the latest release on Saturday. The Hamas terrorists were to be released as part of the deal for the release of the Israeli hostages.
The preverbal straw came on Saturday as two Israeli hostages, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal, were held in a car and forced to watch from a distance as people who were held with them in captivity were released. Hamas filmed this and released the video footage which showed their suffering.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the umbrella organization that represents the families of the hostages held in Gaza, issued a statement decrying the video, calling it a “calculated act of psychological torture is a stark, sickening display of cruelty.”
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Gilboa-Dalal’s father Ilan Dalal told Israel’s Channel 12 news, “This is the best sign of life I could ask for, but on the other hand there’s nothing crueler. It’s not surprising, because it’s Hamas, but it’s a new level of torture.”
According to Israel’s Army Radio, the 602 prisoners who will now not be released from Israeli prisons include 50 serving life sentences, among them Nael Barghouti, the longest-serving Palestinian inmate. He was originally jailed in 1978 for killing a bus driver. Barghouti was re-arrested after his release in the Gilad Shalit exchange. Of the rest, 442 were detained in Gaza after the October 7 massacre.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained the reason in an official statement.
“In light of Hamas’s repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes, it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies,” he said.
This humiliating behavior included the parading of all of the Israeli hostages who were released as part of the ceasefire deal in front of public demonstrations, giving them mock gifts and even absurd certificates of release. Released hostages, including civilians, were also forced to wear military garb.
