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US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen and Russian-Israeli Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are escorted by Palestinian Hamas terrorists and Islamic Jihad terrorists as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
There was an air of inevitability to the coverage of this week’s Israeli-hostage-Palestinian prisoner exchanges, a key part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
From the moment the grotesque spectacle began — set against a freshly adorned stage draped in banners splashed with slogans in Arabic and broken Hebrew — it was clear that Hamas had choreographed this show for at least two audiences, each meant to take away very different messages.
Hamas turned the latest exchange into a dark spectacle—boastful posters, stolen IDF gear, and ominous “gifts” for hostages to bring back. While much of the media ignored it, we won’t look away. pic.twitter.com/W9jnEpXqJo
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 15, 2025
The first was, of course, Israel. Hamas wanted to send a message to the Israeli public — the very people it had so brutally attacked on October 7 — that it remained unbowed and undefeated. That it was just as capable of unleashing another wave of terror on Israeli civilians.
That’s why Hamas operatives arrived dressed in stolen IDF uniforms, brandishing Israeli weapons looted from their October 7 massacre. That’s why the hostages were transported to the release point in a vehicle stolen on that same day. It was psychological warfare wrapped in a grotesque display of theater.
And then there was the “gift.”
Hamas handed hostage Iair Horn a package to take back to Israel — a twisted reminder that his younger brother, Eitan, remains in captivity. It was an hourglass. Placed in Horn’s hands as he stood sandwiched between masked men, he was forced to hold it aloft for the cameras and the crowd. Inscribed on it were the faces of hostage Matan Zangauker and his mother, Einav — a prominent advocate for the release of the captives — alongside a chilling message: “Time is running out.”
Another intended recipient of Hamas’ performance was the international media. With billions of people in their reach, these outlets inform the masses — and as we have seen, many have been all too willing to launder Hamas’ image, buying into its propaganda. That’s why Hamas has eagerly invited journalists to film these grotesque spectacles, confident that much of the press will fail to call them what they are.
For Israelis, these weekly parades of innocent people, who have now been held for nearly 500 days, have been nightmarish. It is gut-wrenching to watch them marched onstage like props in a performance before they can be welcomed home. And the sick “mementos” handed to them week after week? They are not gifts.
Which is why it was so disappointing to see these terror tactics described as such. When CNN called an hourglass — intended for the mother of a man still held captive, inscribed with a threat to murder him — ”memorabilia,” it wasn’t just inaccurate. It was obscene. It is difficult to believe that any journalist, in any context, could not find a more appropriate word.
No, @CNN, the hostages weren’t carrying “memorabilia.” They weren’t leaving a holiday camp with souvenirs. The hourglass, a cruel taunt from Hamas, bore an image of Matan Zangauker, still in captivity, meant for his mother with the message: “Time is running out.”
Stop erasing… pic.twitter.com/cC4f15wacj
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 15, 2025
And when Hamas “gifted” hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen a pair of earrings for the infant daughter he had never met — born while he was in captivity — it was not a touching gesture. It was a message. A warning. A reminder that Hamas can reach even the most innocent, just as it did on October 7, when dozens of children were murdered.
But for much of the press, this is ignored. Once again, Hamas finds a willing accomplice in the international media, which dutifully presents a sanitized version of a bloodthirsty terrorist group. This, even as Hamas operatives literally stand on a stage draped in images of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, with propaganda images of the October 7 massacres in the background, alongside a message to the world (and a reference to former US President Donald Trump’s migration policy): “No migration except to Jerusalem.”
We said there was an air of inevitability to this week’s coverage — coverage that, we should note, saw Sky News once again repeat the insidious on-air claim that “Palestinian hostages” were being exchanged for Israelis held in Gaza.
We’ve seen this distortion countless times before: the press’s unwillingness to ever truly acknowledge Israelis as victims — even when they have been slaughtered in their homes, held hostage for months, paraded onstage like trophies, and handed explicit threats disguised as “gifts.”
Sky News has once again disgraced itself, calling Palestinian prisoners “hostages” during live coverage of the exchange.
These shameless, false moral equivalences must end. @SkyNews and Nomi Bar-Yaacov owe an immediate apology. pic.twitter.com/5R2UZTTNhQ
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 15, 2025
Instead, what do we get? Earnest coverage about how terrified an International Red Cross worker must have felt speaking to Hamas terrorists at the exchange — but not a word about the stunned, hollow-eyed captives being marched before a crowd by the very men who kidnapped them over 15 months ago.
Hamas may wish to project an image of strength, to strike fear into Israeli society — among ordinary people who simply want to live in peace. It won’t succeed. But its vile attempt is aided by credulous journalists eager to repackage its propaganda and soften its image. Whether they do so wittingly or not, the effect remains the same.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post The Media Was Hamas’ ‘Gift’ in Latest Grotesque Parade of Israeli Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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