The release of two more hostages by Hamas, allegedly for humanitarian reasons, was already a blow to Israel in the midst of a propaganda war. It reminded the world (and Israelis awaiting news of their kidnapped relatives) that while the bombing continues and thousands of soldiers remain at the gates of the Gaza Strip waiting for orders for the ground invasion, there are two hundred people who witnessed the October 7 attack. survived, killing 1,400 people in Israel, and whose lives can reportedly be saved through dialogue – being conducted by Qatar and Egypt.

But seeing one of these hostages, an 85-year-old grandmother, greet one of her captors before getting into the ambulance that took her back to Israel and telling journalists that she was treated well after the “hell” of the kidnapping was Gaza better than Hamas could have hoped. Especially since this same grandmother did not hesitate to blame the Israeli authorities for what happened the day she was taken. And even the comparisons between the Palestinian terror group and the Nazis, made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu together with French President Emmanuel Macron, were not enough to soften the defeat in this battle.

In the propaganda war, Hamas won with the release of the Israeli hostages taken from Nir Oz’s kibbutz. One of them, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, spoke to reporters. The hospital press conference was described by many in Israel as a PR “disaster,” as Lifshitz described the care her captors gave her and other hostages in her group, including doctor visits every two or three days, and no spared some effort. criticism of the Israeli authorities.

Lifshitz said the worst moment was the moment of the kidnapping, when the terrorists stormed the kibbutz – where they killed almost half of the 400 residents. “I went through a hell that we could never have imagined,” he said, with the help of his daughter, criticizing Israeli authorities for not knowing about Hamas’ plans. “We were scapegoats,” he said, saying there had been signs but the military paid no attention. “A swarm of people came through the gate. It cost millions and it didn’t help at all,” he said, noting that the terrorists simply broke through and entered the kibbutz..

“I was taken from a motorcycle with my legs to one side and my head to the other,” he explained, saying the kidnappers stole his belongings and beat him with sticks. “They didn’t break my ribs,” but “they hurt a lot and made it hard to breathe.” Lifshitz was taken along with her husband, Oded, 83, but they were separated and she never saw him again. In the tunnels under Gaza, he walked “miles” in what he called a “web” to a place where 25 other hostages were being held.

“They told us that they believed in the Quran and that they would not harm us, that they would give us the same conditions as in the tunnels,” he said, explaining that they ate what they ate, talking about a meal of bread, cheese and cucumber. He also said that everything was prepared for them, that they even had shampoo and conditioner, and that they had disinfected the bathrooms. The hostages tried to talk to the kidnappers, but they refused to discuss political issues.

In the video of his release released by Hamas, Lifshitz shook hands with one of the kidnappers before getting into the ambulance and told him “shalom” – the word means peace and can be used to say both hello and goodbye. When asked about this gesture, she recalled that the hostages were treated with “sensitivity”.

One of the grandchildren told Reuters that his grandparents were peace activists and regularly transported patients from Gaza to Israeli hospitals. After criticism at the press conference, one of the sons said that his mother had said what she thought and would never say anything she was told. The other freed hostage, 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, said nothing.

“Psychological horror”

Israel thanked Egypt for the role it played in the hostages’ release, with armed forces spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari recalling that 220 people are still in the hands of Hamas, including the husbands of both freed women. Regarding the liberation propaganda video, he said it is necessary not to confuse matters. “This is part of the psychological terror that Hamas uses to show that it is a humanitarian organization,” he said. “It is a cynical video and will not make us forget October 7″he said.

Shortly before the two hostages were released, Israel called on a group of foreign journalists to show a video of what they believed were the cameras used by the terrorists on the day of the surprise operation. According to those present, “43 minutes of horror” were shown, including images of torture and beheadings. The government’s goal was to put an end to “a phenomenon akin to Holocaust denial that is happening in real time” so that people do not forget the atrocities committed.

In addition, after Lifshitz’s press conference, the Israeli government sent a message to journalists comparing Hamas to the Nazis, the newspaper reported. Times of Israel. “Just as the Nazis, for the Red Cross, made planned and staged visits to a ‘clean’ concentration camp, to deceive the world and portray themselves as human, so too Hamas, as it slaughters babies, rapes women and children shoots to death, to present himself as a human being by freeing some hostages whom he appears to have treated well,” the message said, indicating that this should be attributed to “diplomatic sources.”

The text emphasized the idea that “the world cannot believe Hamas’s propaganda”, that this is “worse than the Islamic State” and that they are “the new Nazis.” The same idea was relayed this morning by Netanyahu to Macron, the latest leader to visit Israel to reiterate his support for the Israelis. The Prime Minister called the war against Hamas a war “between barbarism and civilization” and recalled that in World War II the world supported the French resistance against the Nazis, just as today it is “united on the side of Israel.”

Netanyahu emphasized: “Hamas’ barbarity threatens Europe and threatens the world. Hamas is a case study of the world against barbarism. The people of Israel refuse to have an Islamic State enclave on their border. This is not an enclave hundreds of kilometers away from Europe. It’s the Islamic State on the outskirts of Paris.” And he reiterated that “no one can live like this.”

Macron said France “is so prepared that the international coalition against the Islamic State,” of which it is part for operations in Iraq and Syria, “can also fight Hamas” – later explaining to Elysee that the idea is for the coalition to serve as an example of what can be done. The French president reiterated that terrorism is the “common enemy” of France and Israel.

Macron was later in Ramallah, where he met Palestinian Authority leader Mahmud Abbas. Something other world leaders had not yet done. The French president recalled that Hamas’ attack on Israel “is also a catastrophe for the Palestinians.” recalling that “nothing can justify the suffering” of civilians in Gaza. Abbas asked him to stop Israel’s “aggression.”

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