10 February, 2025

Scenes of Israeli captives release met with indignation in Israel

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Scenes of Israeli captives release met with indignation in Israel

An Israeli journalist called for a return to Gaza to ‘put an end to these crazy beasts’

Nadav Rapaport


(L-R) Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, Israeli captives, stand on a stage before Hamas fighters hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on 25 January 2025 (AFP)

The families of Israeli captives on Saturday watched in rapture as Hamas released four female soldiers, in scenes broadcast live on television.

The families of Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev and Naama Levy, celebrated with joy and relief at the sight of their daughters alive. 

“The feeling of relief and happiness wraps us after 477 long and unbearable days of nerve-wracking waiting,” Albag’s family said in a statement a few hours later.

“We finally got to see Liri, hug her and know that she is with us, in her safe place, surrounded by the love of the family.”

However, the scenes of the release were also met with indignation and criticism by many in Israel.




The four Israeli soldiers, dressed in military-style clothes, were escorted onto a podium in Gaza City, where they stood before a large crowd of Palestinians and were surrounded by dozens of armed Hamas fighters.

The captives waved and smiled before being led away and transported in Red Cross vehicles into Israel. In exchange, 200 Palestinian prisoners were also released.

Daphna Liel, senior political correspondent for Channel 12, Israel’s leading channel, wrote, “Hamas tried to humiliate them, but they took the stage in front of the hateful crowd with their heads held high, their backs held high and a smile. This is our real victory.”

Politicians also perceived the release process as an attempt by Hamas to humiliate Israel.

“They thought it would be a humiliating performance, but our heroines showed the picture of the victory of the Israeli spirit,” Naama Lazimi of the centre-left Labor Party wrote on X.

‘Wipe them off the face of the earth’

There were also those in Israel who wanted to exact a price from Hamas for what they perceived as a degradation of the released Israeli women and the state of Israel

Shai Golden, a journalist and presenter on Channel 13, who until recently was a presenter on the extreme right-wing Channel 14, proposed on Facebook a roadmap for the day following the release of all captives.

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Golden said Hamas wanted to convey to the world their power after 15 months of war, adding that the Israeli military should “return to Gaza and put an end to these crazy beasts. As long as it takes.

“It’s a simple matter, existential and survival, of wiping these crazy Amalekites off the face of the earth,” Golden added.

“We will fight them and hunt them forever. Until not one of them is left.

“It’s a national imperative. This is a Jewish commandment. This is an Israeli commandment. This is a historic commandment.”

A fragile ceasefire deal went into effect on 19 January, ending a brutal war that has displaced the overwhelming majority of Gaza’s population, devastated much of the besieged enclave and killed over 47,000 people.

Seven Israeli women have so far been released by Hamas in exchange for 290 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The third exchange is expected to take place next Saturday.

Tel Aviv

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