Israeli prisoner leaves heartfelt message for Hamas captors while the Zionists tag Palestinians with Biblical threats
Hamas continues to send messages to the Israelis through the prisoner handovers.
The fourth batch of Zionist prisoners of war in Palestinian captivity in Gaza were handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday and just like in the previous exchanges, Hamas left no stone unturned to send messages to the Israelis.
The first exchange of the day took place in Khan Yunis where a makeshift stage was decorated with images of top Qassam commanders, including the Commander-in-Chief Muhammad Deif, whose martyrdom along with six of his comrades was announced by Hamas on Thursday night.
To kick off the handover, a convoy of cars full of resistance fighters and the two Zionist prisoners made its way towards the stage. The leading vehicle in the convoy was a black Ram truck that made its first public appearance. The truck was captured by the Palestinian fighters from the so-called Gaza envelope during their October 7 raid. It was now branded with the logo of Qassam’s Shadow unit, the specialised unit which deals with captives.
The two prisoners — Yarden Bibas and Ofer Calderon — were brought to the stage one after the other and displayed a signed document in which they had pledged to Qassam that they wouldn’t be working for the Israeli occupation forces after regaining freedom! As a condition for the release of the Palestinian hostages, the Israelis wanted them to sign a document promising they wouldn’t be involved in resistance activities after their release, but the Palestinian negotiators would have none of it. They refused this condition outright. To make the Israelis sign the same pledge as a condition of release, however, was a whole new level of trolling by the Palestinian resistance.
But that wasn’t all. The level of detailing was off the charts.
A banner next to the stage depicted a map of the Ra’im settlement in the Gaza envelope being trampled under the boots of the resistance. Ra’im was one of the settlements overrun by the Palestinians on October 7. They were in complete control of it for nearly two full days as the southern command of the Israeli military collapsed completely under the Al-Aqsa Flood assault.
The banner was another reminder to the Israelis of their humiliating October 7 defeat.
First part of the ceremony done, the convoy then moved to the Port of Gaza for the handover of the third Zionist prisoner, Keith Siegel. On a stage set beside the beach, Qassam fighters carried portraits of Deif and his six senior comrades who were martyred during the 15-month genocidal war. A poster on the stage declared unambiguously, “Nazi Zionism will never win.”
Among the fighters near the periphery of the stage were Qassam snipers in their camouflage gear, carrying Al-Ghoul rifles with which they blew off many a Zionist head during the war. It was another reminder to the Israelis of the losses they took in Gaza without any tangible military achievements.
To add insult to injury, the man who supervised the ceremony at the port was Haitham al-Hawajri, the Qassam commander of Al-Shati battalion. Al-Hawajri was declared dead by the Israelis back on December 3, 2023. But he was out there, fit as a fiddle, overseeing the handover of an Israeli prisoner in broad daylight.
In similar scenes, Hussein Fayyad, the Qassam commander of the Beit Hanoun battalion, which made life hell for the Zionist foot soldiers during the first two weeks of January, was seen talking to the media soon after the ceasefire. Interestingly, the Zionists had announced his killing in May last year.
The presence of Fayyad and al-Hawajri further highlights the vacuity of Israeli claims throughout its genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip that has laid waste to the besieged enclave, killed over 300,000 innocent Palestinians, and totally upended the lives of those who have survived the carnage.
During his handover ceremony, Siegel was given two Qassam goodie bags instead of the customary one given to the other prisoners. The second bag was meant for his wife who was released during the 2023 humanitarian prisoner exchange. She missed out on her goodie bag, but Qassam remembered her!
On Sunday, Qassam released a letter in Hebrew written by Siegel for the resistance fighters who looked after him during his captivity.
Here’s Siegel’s letter in full:
My name is Keith Siegel and I am from Kfar Aza.
I was a prisoner in Gaza from 10/7/2023 until 1/2025.
The fighters guarding me during this period made sure to meet all my needs, including food, drink, medicine, vitamins, eye treatment, blood pressure monitor, and other needs.
They also brought me a doctor when I felt unwell for a long time.
The guards responded to my requests regarding food, food problems, etc.
They also made sure to bring food that was suitable for my health condition, vegetarian food, without oil.
The guards treated me well. I think the Israeli government did not do what was required to reach a deal to return the prisoners and end the war, which led to many victims and additional damage to both parties.
I hope peace will come soon.
I would like to thank the fighters who maintained this during this period.
Keith Siegel
The video that Qassam released to mark the prisoner handovers ended with an announcer telling the crowd: “The signing process of the handing over is taking place now. As you see these images will remain a proof to those who claim humanity that we truly know the meaning of a captive and how to preserve their lives according to our beliefs and our religion.”
In stark contrast, the Palestinian hostages in Israeli dungeons were released with handcuffed hands over their heads, emaciated, carrying visible marks of torture, scabies, and other skin ailments. The Red Cross officials handling the release of the Palestinians were outraged by the inhuman treatment meted out to them.
Many of the Palestinian hostages had to be rushed to the hospital soon after release.
Moreover, Israelis put a bracelet on the wrists of every released Palestinian hostage with a threatening Biblical verse. “The eternal people do not forget. I will pursue my enemies and catch up with them,” read the text in Hebrew and Arabic.
This is on brand for the pIsraelis as they refer to the Palestinians as Amalek and “human animals.” Netanyahu was unambiguous when he declared back in October 2023, “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember.”
A statement released by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office gave an assessment of the gross violations of the Palestinian hostages in the Israeli dungeons:
Amid ongoing brutal violations by the Israeli prison administration against our heroic prisoners, testimonies from freed detainees reveal the extent of the crimes they endured before their release. Many were subjected to severe beatings for days at the hands of prison guards, leaving several with fractured ribs.
These barbaric practices reflect the level of abuse prisoners face in Israeli jails, which has intensified unprecedentedly since October 7. This includes physical and psychological torture, systematic starvation, and deliberate medical neglect, leading to the spread of diseases, including scabies, among detainees.
The immediate transfer of several freed prisoners to hospitals for treatment after spending years in captivity underscores the horrific conditions they endured in Israel’s fascist prisons. The occupation employs brutal torture methods that violate all international laws and conventions regarding prisoners’ rights.
The torture, repression, and abuse suffered by Palestinian prisoners amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, warranting urgent intervention from the international community, the United Nations, and all human rights organizations to halt these atrocities and ensure accountability for those responsible.
All Palestinian hostages have recounted the barbarism they endured in the Israeli dungeons. Their poor treatment at the hands of the Zionists accelerates as the time for release comes closer. Many were released with death threats if they dared celebrate their release.
No humanitarian agency has demanded answers from the Israelis for their barbaric practices. The “civilised” West isn’t threatening action against the Zionist regime for tossing all humanitarian considerations out of the window.
The Zionist state is above all such considerations. Israel’s naked impunity, however, has revealed its genocidal nature to the wider world — and has brought it closer to the inevitable end of its inhuman project.
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A stark contrast
The Israelis murdered Palestinian educator and poet Refaat Alareer on December 6, 2023. Refaat taught English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza. He was one of the leading lights of the literary scene in Gaza and was well-known outside of the tiny enclave for his writings as well as preparing his students in the craft of storytelling.
The only good thing from the events of the last year is the exposure of both Israeli and US/Western States genocidal ideology. It's sad it to almost 80 years for us to see it. I've been hearing about the West Bank and Palestine being stolen my entire life, and I've only been aware for a handful of years. No one I know feels any of the empathy I feel, none of the sorrow and compassion.... I'm just flabbergasted so often by the refusal to see reality (and I'm schizophrenic, so WTF)
Thank you for your article. God bless the resistance and every Palestinian. I am so sorry for this living nightmare that has been upon and endured by them. It literally pains me that “Israel” still stands. The fact that those despicable sodomites put wristbands with a threat on the returned hostages completely enrages me. And leaving handcuffs on some of them.. oh my God, I can’t with that. I have so much unlimited, unrelenting hatred and rage. May I live to see the destruction of “Israel” and its land squatting vermin. It can’t come soon enough.