Egypt Daily News – In an unprecedented scene during Saturday’s handover of Israeli prisoners in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, a fighter from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, held a conversation with the prisoners during the operation.
This morning, the Qassam Brigades handed over the three Israeli prisoners, Eliyahu Datsun Sharabi, Or Abraham Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami, as part of the fifth installment of the exchange deal and the ceasefire agreement, to the Red Cross.
In response to the fighter’s question, Ben Ami said: “I tell the families of the prisoners to continue until the implementation of the deal and return home, and the only way to return home is to complete the deal.”
He explained that the deal returned all the prisoners to their homes in peace, adding: “We are free now,” stressing the need to continue with the second and third phase of the deal.
The Israeli prisoner addressed a message to his government, stressing the need for it to continue its efforts to complete the second phase, and for the two peoples to live in peace. He reiterated that negotiations are the solution to the crisis and that Netanyahu’s government must continue to pursue them.
The Qassam fighter asked him to address a final word to the Brigades, and the prisoner replied, “Thank them for keeping us alive and giving us water.” He explained, “One year and four months we were in Gaza, they gave us water and food, and kept me alive.” He concluded his answer by saying, “Thank you, thank you.
A veiled warning about the fate of Netanyahu’s brother
For his part, Sharabi, the Israeli hostage, said in response to the Qassam fighter’s question, in which he mentioned Yonatan, Netanyahu’s brother who was killed decades ago in a hostage liberation operation: “May God have mercy on Yoni Netanyahu’s brother, and I ask the experienced Israeli government to preserve the Israeli kidnappers as well.”
It is noteworthy that Yonatan Netanyahu was killed in an operation to free Israeli hostages in Uganda in 1976 at Antepa Airport, where he was the commander of the elite forces of the occupation army.
In response to the Qassam fighter saying that he is now free from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Sharabi expressed his wish to continue the negotiations, saying, “Yes, I hope that the second and third stages of the deal will continue and that this terrible war will come to an end.”
He expressed his happiness to return to family and friends, adding, “I also worry for my friends and I want those who stayed to return and for the government of Israel to continue the negotiations.”
Failed government
In response to another of the Qassam fighter’s question, what do you say to your government, the Israeli prisoner described his government as a failure, while expressing his thanks to the Qassam Brigades, saying: “I thank them for keeping me alive, thank you.”
In turn, the third Qassam prisoner said: “Thank them for giving us food and water, in the Gaza Strip, and I thank them, they worried for me and kept me alive,” concluding: “Thank you, thank you.
When the resistance fighter was asked about military pressure and negotiations, he expressed his desire for negotiations to continue and for the war to end, adding, “I call for negotiations.”
