Israel At War Day 507

Give Them The 72 Virgins

No More Grandstanding

Finally Israel is telling Hamas that no more prisoners will be released until they guarantee that the next hostages will not have to go through the humiliating ceremonies to get out as we read in an article from the Jewish News Syndicate:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated early on Sunday morning that the Jewish state is pausing the release of Palestinian prisoners slated to be freed as part of the ceasefire with Hamas.

The PM explained their decision this way:

“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,” said Netanyahu, according to an English translation provided by his office.

The 602 terrorists to be released will now wait until Hamas quits violating an agreement they agreed to follow. It is interesting to note that these prisoners were released back in 2011 and rearrested. This means they will most likely return to terrorism, many going back to East Jerusalem, the West Bank and even Gaza:

Israel was set to release 602 Palestinian terrorists on Saturday, including 50 serving life sentences, 60 serving long terms and 47 who were re-arrested after the 2011 swap for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Then Hamas will turn over the last four remains this coming Thursday:

Hamas is slated to return four additional bodies to Israel next Thursday, in what would be the final exchange of Phase 1 of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Jan. 19 and is due to end on March 1.

Netanyahu again vowed to make Hamas pay a steep price for their chicanery:

On Friday, Netanyahu eulogized the slain hostages returned the previous day—octogenarian Oded Lifshitz and children Kfir and Ariel Bibas—and vowed to bring home the remains of the boys’ mother, Shiri Bibas, from Gaza, after Hamas failed to return her body as scheduled.

“In an unspeakably cynical manner, [Hamas] did not return Shiri to her little children, the little angels, and they put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin,” said Netanyahu in a video message to the nation.

“We will work resolutely to bring Shiri home together with all our abductees—both living and dead—and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement. The sacred memory of Oded Lipshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. God will avenge their blood,” he continued.

As you can see, Hamas just keeps violating the deal while condemning Israel for delaying the release of their prisoners. Typical behavior for them and actions that need to stop.

More Inhumane Torture Evidence

We don’t need more proof that Hamas is brutal, but here is more from a report in The Times Of Israel:

Four Israelis — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert and Eliya Cohen — who were freed from Hamas captivity on Saturday after more than 500 days in the Hamas terror group’s captivity were chained in the dark, starved and psychologically abused in Gaza, they and their family members said upon their return.

Two of the men released have been in captivity for 10 years and they evidenced signs of torture, both physical and mental:

Two further hostages — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — who, suffering from mental illness, each entered the Gaza Strip of their own accord some 10 years ago — came home Saturday bearing evident psychological scars from their captivity, and were described by relatives as largely unresponsive upon their return.

For some reason Hamas released five of the men in two separate ceremonies with one let go with no celebrations:

The terror group paraded five of the six captives on stages in propaganda-filled ceremonies in two locations in Gaza before handing them over to the Red Cross, while al-Sayed was released separately to the humanitarian organization later in the day, without a ceremony.

They are the last six living hostages scheduled to be released as part of the first phase of the three-part hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group, which in January stopped fighting in the Gaza Strip after fifteen months of war sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people and dragged 251 people into Gaza as hostages.

And now we learn that two hostages were brought to the last live hostage release to only be sent right back into captivity:

In a new sign of Hamas’s depravity, the terror group brought two hostages who are still in captivity to watch one of Saturday’s release ceremonies.

In a video published by Hamas, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal were seen inside a vehicle in the stage area set up by the terror group for the release of three of the captives in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

They were seen in the video calling on Israeli officials to secure their release, as they watched Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert be freed from captivity after 505 days.

It was encouragement for their families to see proof of life for the pair. One family member called this psychological torture:

David’s sister, Yeela, called Hamas “monsters” after watching the clip, saying on Instagram: “They are alive. [Hamas] put both of them this morning in the most horrifying and evil situation they could be. There is no limit to the messed-up cynicism of these monsters. I admire you, my brothers.”

In yet another debasing act we see this:

Omer “told us that they compelled him to wave and to kiss that guard who was standing next to him. He said they told him what to do. You can see in the footage that someone came up to him and told him what to do,” his father said.

Pray that these horrible excuses for humans will truly get what they’ve earned. And soon.