Once the second ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was formally agreed to on Jan. 16, the first hostage exchange for the first phase of the agreement began on Jan. 19. Three Israeli women were freed, and 90 Palestinian hostages, most of them women and youth held in Zionist torture dungeons for months, even years, were released in the West Bank. These exchanges were shown in real time on social media for the whole world to see.
The treatment of Zionist hostages and stripped Palestinian detainees is as different as night and day.
And what the world saw was a shocking reality: how well treated the Israeli hostages were by Hamas in contrast to the horrific treatment the Palestinian hostages endured at the hands of the Zionist jailers.
Palestinian hostages had visibly lost a considerable amount of weight due to starvation and malnutrition, suffered mental degradation, horrendous beatings resulting in untreated broken bones, torture, rape and humiliation.
Many of the detainees were randomly kidnapped by the occupation and held under “administrative detention” with no charges since Oct. 7, 2023. And once they were allowed to go home, the occupiers threatened them with being rearrested if there was any display of open celebration by family members and friends for their return.
The second round of hostage exchanges took place on Jan. 25 when four Zionist women soldiers, dressed in their fatigues, were released during a rally-type atmosphere in Gaza as they were escorted to the stage by Hamas fighters while waving to thousands of cheering Gazans. One can only imagine how the Israeli officials reacted viewing smiling Zionist soldiers waving to a population that they were trained to commit genocide against.
The four soldiers made the following statement in Arabic on social media as they were leaving: “Peace be upon you, hello. Thank you to the Qassam Brigades for treating us well. Thank you for the food, water and clothes. Thank you for the men who would protect and look after us during the bombing. I hope this is a happy day for you, the best day.” The bombing they were referring to was by the Zionists who killed a number of the hostages, including three who attempted to escape from their captivity.
On the same day, 200 Palestinian prisoners were released in the second group in the first phase of the ceasefire. These included 120 serving life sentences: 81 from Hamas; 23 from Islamic Jihad; 13 from Fatah; two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; one from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine; and 79 more with even longer life sentences. Some prisoners have been incarcerated for decades, such as Mohammed Al-Tous from Bethlehem and Raed Al-Saadi from Jenin, who have spent 40 years and 36 years, respectively, in the occupation’s prisons.
All told, 33 Israeli hostages and 1,900 Palestinian hostages are scheduled to be released during the first phase if the ceasefire holds up.
Israelis continue to violate the ceasefire
Another major point agreed on under the ceasefire is the right of thousands of displaced Palestinians in central Gaza to return to their destroyed homes in northern Gaza and to allow in hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid, long delayed due to genocide. Instead and in violation of this, occupation troops can be seen on social media firing live ammunition at unarmed people attempting to go home, especially in Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor.
In the early days of the ceasefire, Israeli troops also carried out murderous assaults on the occupied West Bank where dozens of Palestinian men were falsely detained and residents were killed by airstrikes and bullets, including the fatal shooting of a two-year-old in the head in Jenin.
Hamas has denounced the Israelis for the disruption in the enforcement of the ceasefire deal, including preventing the right to return from the south to north Gaza.
The main objective of the heroic Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7, 2023, was to bring attention to the plight of thousands of Palestinian detainees and to gain the freedom of as many of them as possible. That began with the first ceasefire agreement in November 2023.
The fact that Hamas negotiated for the release of not only their members but members of other Palestinian factions regardless of ideological differences speaks volumes about the unity and solidarity needed to resist, demoralize and eventually defeat a terrorist regime — one armed with the most technically advanced weaponry by U.S. imperialism.
Donald Trump lifted the ban on 2,000-pound bombs being sent to Israel that Joe Biden imposed before leaving office. Trump shares the same vision as Benjamin Netanyahu to deport as many Palestinians as possible to other countries, similar to the illegal deportations of migrants in the U.S.
It is incumbent upon the pro-Palestine movement inside the U.S. to do everything possible to stop any more military aid being sent to Israel by the U.S. government to escalate the genocide in Gaza.